Arkansas State's Mays explains 'fainting goat'
Arkansas State wide receiver Booker T. Mays III has become an overnight Internet sensation with his "fainting goat" tactic used during a fake punt in last Saturday's 40-21 loss to Miami.
Coach Blake Anderson came up with the new role for Mays so that he wouldn't get a penalty by running downfield. Mays would play a "fainting goat," falling down as if he'd suffered a heart attack, like various goats on YouTube.
Mays practiced his fainting act the entire week before the Miami game. "I got in five or six good reps," he told CBSSports.com.
In fact, Mays got so good at the fainting goat, he developed an alternative: the fainting cockroach. "You kind of curl up and go into the fetal position," he explained.
In the end, Mays stuck with the fainting goat.
"When we ran the play in the game, I went with the fainting goat. I sold out for the team, went all the way down, but Miami has soft grass and I have pads, so it's OK."
Other versions of the video end with Miami linebacker Thurston Armbrister flattening Mays after he gets back up, but Mays says he saw Armbrister coming.
"Most videos don't roll the whole film. I just lost my balance," he said. "I saw him coming, just enough to not get run all the way over. It looked like I got smooth run over, but I actually didn't. I promise."
The Arkansas State Red Wolves host the Utah State Aggies on Saturday. No word on whether Mays will debut the fainting cockroach.