It’s very rare that things are pretty with LSU and Alabama meet up on the football field, as the two SEC West programs always seem to play tough, hard-nosed football games against one another. But on Saturday night, we got a moment of beauty on a trick play involving a punter.
On their first possession of the game, the Tigers found themselves facing a fourth-and-4 from near midfield. They sent out the punt team, but instead of asking Avery Atkins to try and pin the Crimson Tide deep, the punter took the snap and started to barrel towards the line of scrimmage.
Now, asking a punter to run into a whole bunch of players on Alabama’s defense is an absolutely horrendous idea and a really great way to get your punter hurt. So instead of asking him to lower his shoulders and fight for yardage, Atkins pulled off a jump pass that no one on the Crimson Tide saw coming. Jack Mashburn snuck behind everyone and reeled in the pass, going 26 yards and setting LSU up in Bama territory.
The Fake to Perfection
@AveryAtkins32
@jacksmashburn pic.twitter.com/6wNtBXxhr4
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) November 6, 2021
The Tigers would go on to score a little bit later on the drive. Let this be a lesson to every college football coach: If your punter throws the ball, good things will happen.