Receiver DeVier Posey thought he had redeemed himself of a dropped touchdown pass last week against Iowa when he connected with quarterback Terrelle Pryor on third down and ran the ball into the end zone to put the Buckeyes up 24-7 over Michigan just before halftime.
He even threw up his hands toward the crowd creating a “Block O” with his gloves that Nike had specially designed for that purpose.
“The gloves had a black ‘Block O’ on the inside when you put your hands together and so that’s what (Posey) was trying to do,” receiver Dane Sanzenbacher said.
But he didn’t celebrate his redemption for long. The referee gave Posey a 15-yard penalty for excessive celebration.
The call wasn’t explained until later, when offensive lineman Mike Adams brought his hands together and flashed the stands a “Block O” and received the same penalty, which the referee described as “showing a sign to the crowd.”
“They didn’t want any hand gestures to the crowd, just celebrating with your teammates,” Sanzenbacher said. “We should have learned the first time they called us on it, but we didn’t.”
During both subsequent kickoffs, the Buckeyes had to kick from their own 15-yard line instead of their 30-yard line.
The gloves were a part of the Nike Pro Combat uniforms designed to honor the 1942 national championship Buckeye squad. Nike designed uniforms with a similar concept for several other teams and has used the gloves to send signals before, including when Alabama’s gloves displayed an “A” during last year’s BCS National Championship Game.
“I think it’s safe to say that we will never wear gloves with anything on it again,” Sanzenbacher said.
