In an interview for the upcoming Senior Bowl, former University of Alabama quarterback Blake Sims credited offensive lineman Austin Shepherd with his turnaround in the Iron Bowl.
“I have to give all the credit to Austin Shepherd,” Sims said. “He came up to me and said ‘Blake you’re a great player. You’re a playmaker. Don’t get down on yourself going in on this next series. Just do what you’re supposed to do. Keep doing what you’re doing. We’ll give you time and you’re going to change this game around for us.’
“I look up and the game is 0:00 on the board and I had noticed we won the game.”
After his third interception, on a bad slant attempt, Auburn took advantage to score a touchdown to go ahead 33-21. The Tigers already had more than 400 yards of total offense and the only thing keeping the game from being a rout was the Crimson Tide defense making four first-half stops in the red zone, resulting in field goals instead of touchdowns.
Consequently, coaches told reserve quarterback Jacob Coker to start warming up.
“We didn’t really think about making a change, but if things kept going the way they were we probably would have given Jake a chance,” Saban said during his postgame press conference.
Shepherd also recalled what he said on the sideline while meeting with reporters last month.
“He seemed a little down because he knew he had kind of messed up I would say,” Shepherd said. “He didn’t want to let the team down. That’s what I saw and I kind of tried to pick him up and I felt he responded great, though.”
The starting right tackle recalled what he said as: “Man you’re a game-changer. You know this. You’ve done it all year. You’ve done it at LSU, you’ve done it everywhere. So like Coach says, forget about the past, just play the next play.”
“I told him he could do it and I guess he went out there and did it.”
Alabama scored touchdowns on five straight possessions en route to a 55-44 victory at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Sims overcame the three interceptions to go 20 of 27 for 312 yards, with four passing touchdowns and a rushing score.
Both players will play for the South Team in this year’s Senior Bowl, set for Jan. 24 (4 p.m., ET, NFL Network). Although Shepherd started at right tackle the past two seasons, and also filled in at left tackle, he’s expected to take snaps at guard during practices to show his versatility.
Christopher Walsh has covered Alabama football since 2004 and is the author of 19 books. In his free time, he writes about college football.
