Fitzpatrick, Howard talk about their favorite moments of the season
There are a few moments that will stand out for every football team in any given season. University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban has said that "the whole season is about how you finish."
There are memories that stick with players on the way to the finish, though. One of the first defining moments of the season was the Crimson Tide's 21-point come back against Ole Miss. O.J. Howard's favorite moment of the season was part of that comeback.
"It would have to be Eddie Jackson," Howard said. "The Ole Miss game, we were kind of down and momentum was going their way and he returned the punt, I think, right before halftime. That was a great memory. Eddie got hurt later on in the season, but that was a turning moment for our team and it was a big pickup for us."
That wasn't the only play that stands out from that game. Alabama needed scores from the offense, defense and special teams to finish the comeback.
"Jon Allen running the one against Ole Miss, running that one back, that was pretty cool," defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick said.
Alabama’s non-offensive touchdowns were a high point for several players. The Crimson Tide have 14 of them so far this year. Allen has a pair, while Jackson had three before his season-ending injury.
Allen has had more than one highlight play this season. Fitzpatrick said another one of the best moments from the defensive lineman was later in the season, "When Jon jumped over the dude from Texas A&M and smashed the quarterback."
Another common talking point from Saban centers on Alabama’s performance against its SEC rivals. Players are often asked years later whether they won or lost games against teams like Tennessee and Auburn.
Alabama did well in that department again this season, but it was another SEC rival that created Fitzpatrick’s favorite memory of the season thus far.
“Definitely LSU,” he said. “LSU, I would say, when we shut them out, kept them to zero points and we all got the Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week was the whole defense."
The entire defense was named the Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week after that win. It’s only the second time since the award was created in 2004 that it was given to an entire defense.
Those might be the high points of the season now, but there’s still a chance for Alabama to have even more memorable moments as it enters its third straight College Football Playoff. There’s at least one more game that players will be able to look back on when they remember their favorite parts of the 2016 season.
"It has been a really great season, and we don’t have any intentions stopping anytime soon,” center Bradley Bozeman said. “We’ll talk about that at the end of the season.”
Reach Ben Jones at ben@tidesports.com or 205-722-0196.