Terrel Hunt dodged further punishment for a mistake that could have plagued Syracuse moving forward.

The Atlantic Coast Conference decided not to issue further penalty for the punch Hunt threw at Villanova linebacker Dillon Lucas, the Post-Standard reported on Tuesday. The action got Hunt ejected from the game before halftime, and SU head coach Scott Shafer discussed it on Wednesday.

“He was dead wrong and that’s why he got penalized and got ejected from the game,”Shafer said during the ACC coaches’teleconference. “It doesn’t change how I feel about Terrel, other than the fact he’s got to do a better job controlling his emotions in that situation or else he’s going to end up putting himself in jeopardy to have multi-game issues.

“I was disappointed but not discouraged because I know who he is as an individual.”

With 3:24 remaining in the second quarter of the Orange’s eventual 27-26 double-overtime victory over the Wildcats, Hunt finished a 6-yard run. He was dragged down by Villanova’s Joey Harmon, but Lucas came in late to finish the tackle and hit Hunt up high.

The signal-caller responded by throwing a left-handed punch at Lucas’facemask, drawing four penalty flags and an ejection after the referees convened. Second-string quarterback Austin Wilson hurriedly took snaps on the sideline before replacing Hunt and completing 11-of-17 passes for 89 yards.

Shafer said that Hunt has addressed his teammates to apologize for his actions. The head coach also added he has had “a couple good talks”with his starting quarterback.

“It hurt him bad. It was a mistake and he owned up to it,” Shafer said. “I look forward to getting him back on the football field, learning and not going back over that bridge ever again.”

Published on September 3, 2014 at 12:11 pm

Contact Phil: pmdabbra@syr.edu | @PhilDAbb