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USATSI

Former NFL quarterback turned high school coach Trent Dilfer sent social media into a frenzy last Friday after a video of him shoving one of his players went viral. Dilfer has since offered an apology through Lipscomb Academy Football's Twitter account. 

Dilfer wrote he's taking "full responsibility" for the incident, which involved one of this players, Beau Dawson.  

Here's what Dilfer wrote:

"First and foremost, I take full responsibility as the head coach and leader of our team for not deescalating an emotional situation with one of our players, Beau Dawson. Beau is one of our finest student athletes and embodies all the characteristics we are looking for in our Mustang players. Beau plays the game with the right kind of passion and is an inspiration to our other players. During a moment of frustration and in an attempt to get our team to play with more discipline, I unfairly singled Beau out. Somehow Beau Dawson has been portrayed publically as the culprit in this situation, when in reality, I should have been a better leader and shown greater wisdom and discernment in how I handled this incident. Overall, I could not be more proud of Beau and the rest of our team for how they handle the emotional nature of each game they compete in."

In the video of the incident, Dilfer is seen grabbing Dawson by the shoulders and shoving him toward the team bench. He then points in the tight end/defensive end's face and repeatedly yells, "sit down." 

Dawson is the son of longtime NFL kicker Phil Dawson, who serves as Lipscomb's special team's coordinator. 

Dilfer, who the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted sixth overall in 1994,  played 14 NFL seasons and won a Super Bowl with the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. He made the Pro Bowl for Tampa in 1997, a season in which he passed for 21 touchdowns and 2,555 yards with 11 interceptions. 

The Lipscomb Mustangs are 2-0 this year under Dilfer, who has become prominent in the youth coaching circle since leaving the NFL with his work at Lipscomb and the Elite 11 quarterback camp. Lipscomb has won its first two games of the season by a combined 124 points.