AUBURN, Ala. – Prior to Saturday's game, the senior linebacker trio of Darrell Williams, Deshaun Davis and Montavious Atkinson had played in a combined 141 games. If you include the 47 career games Tre' Williams played while at Auburn, that's 188. And not once during those 188 games did any of the four Auburn linebackers make an interception.
"We don't too much talk about it," Davis said. "We'll joke about it sometimes. When we watch other teams play, it seems like they can just stand still and close their eyes and the ball comes right to them. We're like, 'Why can't that be us?' We'll laugh about it.
"But Coach T-Will (Travis Williams) tells us all the time, 'Y'all can't catch.' He jokes about it with us because he had probably one interception in his whole life."
So it was only fitting that on Senior Day – the last game Davis, Darrell Williams and Atkinson will ever play at Jordan-Hare Stadium – they got their first interception thanks to an incredible individual play by Williams, who then took it back 26 yards for a touchdown.
"I've just been waiting on it," Williams said. "I knew that I hadn't had a pick all year, and in high school, I was getting those picks and taking them to the crib. That's part of my game that I was missing, and I was telling myself that I only have two more games to do it."
The play itself came early in the first quarter on Liberty's second drive. The Flames had picked up some first downs on quick passes on their first drive, and Williams knew that. So on the second play of the drive, he had an idea of what was coming. And sure enough, the Liberty quarterback faked the handoff, set his feet and tried to hit a quick slant to the right. He just never saw Williams.
"I was reading the quarterback's eyes, and I knew it was coming out hot," the senior linebacker said. "I got my hands up hopefully to get them on the ball or even pick it, and once I caught it, I was like, 'Oh yeah, I have to take it to the crib.' That was the only thing on my mind. There wasn't a pause or anything. As soon as I caught it, a switch turned and it was, 'Let's go.'"
"That was one heck of a play by him," added Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham. "That was really athletic. I'm super happy for him."
"For him to take it for a touchdown on senior day, I know it's a moment he'll never forget," Davis said. "I had a pretty good view of it also, so it's something I'll never forget. We'll talk about that whenever the reunion time comes along."
When Williams crossed the goal line for the touchdown, there was no dance or celebration. He simply ran out of the back of the end zone, right in front of the Auburn student section, and waited for his teammates to come mob him. He wanted to live in that moment.
After all, the interception had been a long time coming for the Auburn linebacker corps.
"I was just soaking it in, looking at the fans," Williams said. "I knew my teammates were coming because they understand. I could feel it when they huddled up around me in the back of the end zone. Just looking at the crowd, I turned around and my teammates were right there, and I could hear all of them talking about how excited they were for me."
"That pick wasn't for me. I know I said I had been waiting on it. But it was for the guys."
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf