ATLANTA -- Alabama linebacker Mekhi Brown had to be restrained by teammates and coaches after lunging at a member of the Crimson Tide athletics staff in the third quarter of Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship Game against Georgia.
Brown, a redshirt sophomore from Columbus, Georgia, had just been penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct on a kickoff. TV cameras then caught Brown arguing with Kerry Stevenson, Alabama's director of player development, before pushing away a teammate and taking a swipe at Stevenson.
Ellis Ponder, director of football operations, and teammate Keith Holcombe quickly intervened, pulling Brown away and leading him to the far side of the sideline.
"I don't want to talk about it," Brown said after the Tide's 26-23 overtime win. "But all I'll say is I knew I had to make up for it."
Brown remained in the game, making a clothesline tackle on a fourth-quarter kickoff return by Georgia's Mecole Hardman, setting off a raucous celebration with his teammates. That was the only tackle he recorded all game.
"I was glad when they were there for me after I made the play, too," Brown said. "It made me feel real good."
Stevenson wasn't immediately made available for comment.