The story of Gravedigger, the wonder play that saved the

Alex Scarborough, ESPN

• Staff WriterNov 25, 2023, 10:00 PM ET Close Covers the SEC.Joined ESPN
• in 2012.
• Graduate of Auburn University.AUBURN, Ala.–“Whoa nellie! Whoa nellie!”

  Alabama expert Dean Altobelli yelled so loud

  in event that his words could be heard through the metal door and cinder block walls that separated the visitors locker room from the waiting for media next door.A couple of minutes later on, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban strolled in as his partner, Terry, clapped from her seat in the back row and yelped,”Yay!”Saban then sat down and attempted to explain a win that few could have seen coming. “So, do I truly need to state anything?”Saban asked facetiously.Yes and no. Due to the fact that what can you state after what happened here

  , on the road, versus an archrival in a series that has had more

  than its fair share of miraculous surfaces? The Tide looked to be toast, down 24-20 with under a minute left to play, facing a difficult fourth-and-goal from Auburn’s 31-yard line to conserve their season and keep their playoff hopes alive.Editor’s Picks

  1 Related Then Jalen Milroe took the snap, danced around the pocket and surveyed the field. He waited … and waited … and waited some more, as the Tigers only hurried 2 defenders.

  “I guess if you’re in this long enough,” Saban said, “often it goes against you in the last play of the game, and sometimes you’re lucky and it chooses you.”

  Ten years ago, inside this very same confined makeshift media room, Saban walked through how a potential game-winning basket with one second left developed into a 100-plus-yard return and a walk-off win for Auburn. All this time later on, he rattled off the mistakes that caused among the most heartbreaking losses of his profession: a blocked kick, a dead ball nasty, getting the ball 5 times inside the opponent’s 25-yard line in the third and fourth quarters and not scoring a single point.Call what Milroe

  and Alabama did luck– and Saban did, in part– but like the Kick-Six, there’s more to what took place here on Saturday night.”I got to confess we had good fortune,

  “Saban stated,”but it still boils down to capability to execute. Somebody had an opportunity to make a play, whether it was their punt returner or [Isaiah Bond] in the end zone and whoever was protecting him.”So that’s why you play the game.

  “Here’s how the play that caused Alabama’s not likely 27-24 victory came together: Alabama receiver Isaiah Bond catches the game-winning goal versus Auburn. John Reed/USA TODAY Sports Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold: I seem like that went all the way back to the summer. Coach Saban, before we started fall camp, he replayed the play [last season] where Tennessee scored on the kick and the play when LSU scored on the last play. So that was just going through our mind and being cognizant and simply focusing and typing in on what we needed to do. Honestly, we never ever lost faith. We prepared for moments like this.Saban: Believe it or not, we in fact practice that play every Friday when we do walk-through and we do unique circumstances. We get in that development [5 receivers and no backs], and everyone diminishes the field and runs differing paths in the end zone.Arnold: Usually when we do it in practice, we do not want to get guys injure. So, I indicate, we do not ever really attempt to make a play on the ball.

  We let him capture it. And that entered into fruition.Alabama defensive back Malachi Moore: It might’ve paid off.Saban: You tell [Milroe] they’re only going to hurry 3 guys and sometimes 2. … He’s going to have lots of time. He’s got to choose the guy that he thinks has actually got the very best chance to capture it.Moore: [Bond] has all the confidence in himself to make a play. He believes he’s the very best wide receiver on the field, and that’s how you need to be.Arnold: Milroe steps up in the pocket.

  Kool-Aid [McKinstry] is sitting right here. We resembled, dang, this kind of reminds me of [2 years ago]

  . Moore: I really didn’t wish to view the play at all. I simply looked at our fans [for their response] Arnold: Fact be informed, before J-Mil threw the ball, I said a prayer

  . So in my head, I’m thinking we went to church before the games, so God give us a blessing. It’s kind of like games like this, you always understand so much wrong is going to happen. They had a number of dirty plays like hitting our punter and things didn’t go our way. The one with Jermaine [Burton] when I think his foot was in bounds, and I seem like everybody saw that. So something needed to go right.Offensive lineman JC Latham: My guy provided me a bull rush right at me and then quickly after I got knocked off or something, so I was able to kind of simply turn and see where [Milroe] was. He was all the way on the left side of the field and at that point I’m basically ineffective because situation. I can attempt to diminish the play, however I can’t actually do excessive. And yeah, so I simply kind of saw everything on unfold. And, yeah, it was insane.Milroe: I saw IB one-on-one. I resembled, we going to score.Saban: IB actually kind of got himself in position where there was some space to toss it. He pushed inside, and the DB was inside of him– and after that he returned out and Jalen threw it back out to him, and it was a terrific catch, a great throw.Bond: I type of set him up.

  I saw the ball. He was routing, so I was sort of leaning into him and after that faded– and then simply made the play, as y’ all saw.Moore: Once I saw our fans cheering, I understood we did something good.Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne: He caught it right? Please remain in bounds.Terry Saban(jokingly

  ): I thought touchdown when it was in the air. I called that play.Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson: I was available in with Jalen and always knew he was a poised guy.

  That’s how you got to be playing the position he plays, and I’m just so delighted

  for him.Latham: I stated it at media day: [Milroe is]

  one of the very best quarterbacks in the country. He has to potentially be the best quarterback in the country, and he’s simply gotten rid of all difficulty and done what he needs to do. So that’s who he is. He got the opportunity to show it. I never ever questioned him for a second.Milroe: It’s all about never ever quiting. That was the greatest thing throughout the game and with that play, it was just all about trust. … I’ll never forget this game ever in my life.Bond: I ain’t going to lie, making that play meant a lot. That’s going to belong of Alabama history.Saban: I believed [Milroe] played terrific in the game. And his development has actually changed our group and our offense– because he is a point guard, and due to the fact that he is including everyone in the game. That’s the important things I believe he had to discover this year.

  He’s now ended up being incredibly efficient at the quarterback position.Auburn coach Hugh Freeze on the choice not to pressure Milroe: You can second-guess it. You’ve simply got to have fun with vision. We have actually got nine guys back there. Simply have fun with vision, make a play on the ball and knock it down. He seemed like he was shoved off, however I could not inform. You can press him, and then you’ve got one-on-ones, and they toss it up. You can do that if you

  want. I like the call. I believe we just need to kick back there with vision and knock the ball down.Auburn linebacker Jalen McLeod: D.J. [James] had a hell of a game. With corners, people simply look at that a person play. I informed him,’Look D.J., I would take you again. If you throw that ball up one more time, I ‘d provide you another possibility. You had three PBUs [pass breakups] this game. I would take that risk once again with you.

  ‘He’s an NFL skill. Sometimes you live with stuff like that.Auburn got the ball back with 26 seconds left, however an interception by Arnold sealed the win.Arnold: They had the Kick-Six. I desired the Pick-Six. But it’s all right.Saban: I can’t tell you how happy I am of the guys and how great I feel about winning the game. However as a coach, you always look at things like, how did you play? Since we’re going to have to play at a greater level on a more consistent basis if we’re going to have success in the future

  . Which’s what you constantly evaluate. That’s the reality check that all of us have to make.

  “As Alabama filled onto buses to go home to Tuscaloosa, Crimson Tide director of football

  operations Ellis Ponder puffed on a victory cigar. Next week, the Tide will play Georgia for the SEC championship.But that was a matter for another day as members of the devices staff collected around a reporter who shot a video of the Milroe-to-Bond touchdown.”Can I send this to myself?” among the staffers stated, taking the phone and texting it to himself.But what need to he call the video?Saban was asked what the goal play was called, but he could not offer it up.”If the play had a name,”he said. “I would not inform you what it was.”However Bond later on coughed it up.”Gravedigger,”he said.Milroe wasn’t sure about that.” I don’t know what it’s called, “he stated.”But I like it.”