San Jose State’s Leland Smith nearly made one of the best catches you’ll ever see against Texas on Saturday.
Smith made a leaping grab of long pass from Walker Eget by pinning the ball against the side of Texas defensive back Kobe Black’s helmet. He then got a second hand on the ball as he fell to the ground.
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Take a look. It was reminiscent of David Tyree’s famed Super Bowl catch, though Smith didn’t have the ball pinned against his own helmet.
The call on the field was for a successful completion. But the play, as you can imagine, immediately went to replay review. And it was ultimately overturned and called incomplete.
Though you could argue that Smith had firm control of the ball with one hand while it was pinned against Black’s helmet, his body started touching the sideline when his right hand touched the ball. That moment appeared to be the point where officials deemed he had firm control. Otherwise Smith should have been credited with the catch. The ball never hit the ground.
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The overturn also ruined what was a rare bright spot for SJSU in the first half against the Longhorns. After a sluggish start, Texas reeled off four TDs in less than six minutes across the end of the first quarter and start of the second quarter for a big lead.
