Will Horns Down be a penalty in 2024? SEC coordinator of officials explains

Down in the SEC, you can mess with Texas, so long as you don't hit 'em with a Horns Down directly in their face. Much has been made on the notion of Horns Down being a penalty with the Texas Longhorns joining the SEC. The Big 12 made a big stink of it last year during the Longhorns' final season in that conference. Apparently, the SEC views it differently and will let SEC teams have fun.

During SEC Media Days in Dallas, SEC coordinator of officials John McDaid said on Tuesday that his league's officials will view Horns Down in a "contextual" manner, a case by case basis, if you will. In the SEC, the league already has two celebrations that are often mocked in the Gator Chomp for Florida and to a much lesser degree the Land Shark Fin for one the Ole Miss defense does something good.

McDaid outlined the three reasons SEC officials would ever call an unsportsmanlike taunting penalty.

"Unsportsmanlike conduct needs to fit one of three categories: Is it taunting an opponent? Is it making a travesty of the game? Is it otherwise compromising our ability to manage the game."

He then differentiated it by saying that if it is guided to a team's own players and fans, it will be fine.

"There's a difference between a player giving a signal directly in the face of an opponent, as opposed to doing it with teammates celebrating after a touchdown or on the sideline. Every single occurrence is not an act of unsportsmanlike conduct. If a player just does it to celebrate with his teammates, I call that a travesty. I don't have that directed at his opponent. It's contextual."

McDaid then made it a point to say that he does not want his officials forcing their way into a game.

"We hear all the time, 'we don't want officials factoring into the game, let the two teams decide it.' Guess what? You put a flag down for unsportsmanlike conduct, you're moving someone 15 yards. You're giving the offense an automatic first down if it's the defense. That's inserting yourself into the game."

The big key here is not using the Gator Chomp, the Land Shark Fin or now Horns Down directly at Florida, Ole Miss and Texas players, respectively. That is a clear delineation from taunting someone.

"We already have some of this in our conference. We've had opponents down in Gainesville winning and not using the Gator Chomp in a positive manner. As long as it hasn't been directed at an opponent for taunting, we haven't had a problem with it."

As long as you don't do it to someone rocking some burnt orange, you can hit 'em with a Horns Down!

How the SEC officials will go about assessing if Horns Down is a penalty

I am so glad that this is the course of action the SEC decided to go with. We don't need to make exceptions for Texas. This is our league, and they are now a part of it. Welcome home, Horns...

Do I think it will get out of hand? Oh, most definitely. Oklahoma already loves hitting Texas with the Horns Down, and I bet Arkansas and Texas A&M are chomping at the bit to troll their bitter rival once again.

Let's be real. It's funny and I think we should keep doing it, within the loose context of not being completely unsportsmanlike of course. Have I done the Gator Chomp ironically after seeing Florida squander another Cocktail Party? Most definitely. I would expect for Mississippi State fans to a way of mocking the Land Shark Fin. In turn, I bet Ole Miss fans love mocking their excessive cowbell usage.

See, this is exactly what I am getting at. Everybody in the SEC has some variation of this. It is why this is the best conference in college football. Everyone's traditions are great internally and incredibly stupid in the eyes of everyone else. You can call it pageantry, you can call it what you will. All I know is Texas better be ready to dish it out because everyone is going to want to serve them humble pie.

Allowing Horns Down in the SEC, within reason, I adding another wrinkle to making this league great.