RICHMOND -- Gov.-elect Tim Kaine said Wednesday that watching Virginia Tech's Marcus Vick stomp the back of his tackler's knee after a play in the Gator Bowl on Monday "made my heart sink."

Video: See footage of the stomping incident on the Wednesday version of the TimesCast

After Vick was tackled by Louisville's Elvis Dumervil, the quarterback hopped to his feet and, while looking down at Dumervil, stomped his foot onto Dumervil's left calf. Dumervil was still on his hands and knees attempting to get up.

Kaine, a Hokies fan, said Vick's unsportsmanlike play was a bad message to young athletes who emulate stars such as Vick.

"I saw that and it just made my heart sink," Kaine said in response to media questions about the incident.

Steve Usecheck, a Big 12 Conference official who led the crew for Monday's game, called Tech's first-half taunting and late hits the worst he's seen in his 22 seasons. He said that no official saw Vick stomp the back of Dumervil's leg while Dumervil was down on the turf late in the second quarter.

"We missed that, and I'm sorry we did," Usecheck told the Newport News Daily Press from his Colorado home. "The TV, everybody saw it but us. I wish we had the opportunity to talk to [Vick] because that was complete [expletive]. You bet I would have thrown his ass out."

Usecheck, who called the Hokies' play "brutal," said he has not seen a replay of the Vick incident but that purposely stomping a defenseless opponent warrants ejection.