@HaleHentges/Alabama football photo

Dec. 28, 2017

Hale Hentges had just made Alabama's version of the The Catch, the latest and greatest play in this amazing series of Alabama-Auburn football.

Goose bumps for the 2015 Helias graduate and his followers.

But upon further review ...

The play came on 3rd and 9 from the Auburn 17 late in the third quarter of the Nov. 25 Iron Bowl at Auburn, when Jalen Hurts threw a pass to a well-covered Calvin Ridley near the goal line.

"They always tell us to keep our eye on the ball when it's in the air and run towards it," said Hentges, a 6-5, 250-pound junior Alabama tight end, "because you never know what's going to happen."

Well, what happened was the ball was deflected high in the air, left floating over the end zone.

"I started running towards it and the tip, it was just kind of perfectly laying up there," Hentges said. "I thought I'd caught it."

So did the officials ... touchdown!

Hentges' heroic haul just inches from the turf appeared to give the Crimson Tide a 21-20 lead with one minute left in the third quarter.

Then, the review.

No touchdown --- the ball touched the ground as Hentges tried to secure it.

"I guess I didn't have my hands close enough together," he said. "I guess it nicked the ground, but I thought it didn't. But when I went back and watched the tape, it was pretty clear it did.

"It would have been talked about a lot this year if we would have gone on to win the game. It would have fit right into Iron Bowl history, because there are always plays that shouldn't happen that end up happening.

"But the football is a weird-shaped little ball, it doesn't always fit in your hands like it should. You think you've just made an unbelievable play, then you realize it's fourth down and you're going out there for a field goal."

It ended up being a botched field goal. The Crimson Tide wouldn't score again, and Auburn went on to a 26-14 victory.

The loss also knocked Alabama out of the four-team college football playoff picture, but only temporarily --- previously unbeaten Wisconsin lost the next week, which put the Crimson Tide back in at No. 4.

There was some concern, however, that it would be Ohio State that would get that final spot, not Alabama.

"We were all nervous, to get that news was a huge weight lifted off our shoulders," Hentges said. "Whenever you don't win your final game, you leave your fate in other peoples' hands. Anytime that can be avoided, that's something you want to do.

"Thankfully, they chose us and hopefully, we're not going to look back."

Looking forward, the Tide's next game is a flashback --- a rematch of the last two national championship games, as Alabama (11-1) meets defending national champion Clemson (12-1) in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day in New Orleans.

"I don't think it's a secret that everybody on both teams wants to play each other, that's pretty obvious," Hentges said. "We've been wanting to play them, because we kind of have a sour taste in our mouths from the last time we played.

"For a whole year, we've been hearing about how Clemson beat us. We've been watching videos in our locker room to give us motivation and stay hungry --- we're anxious to get back to that stage and get some sort of revenge, that's been on everyone's mind.

"Hopefully, we can put together a great game plan and get a win."

While the rankings say it's No. 4 Alabama against No. 1 Clemson, the Wise Guys in Las Vegas say otherwise --- the Crimson Tide are 3-point favorites.

"It doesn't matter what Vegas thinks, they voted us in at No. 4 and rightfully so," he said. "(Clemson) had a phenomenal year and they beat us last year. Everybody (on Alabama) kind of has the mindset that we're going to lay low, do our work, come up on them on game day and figure out a way to surprise them."

The extended time off has certainly helped the banged-up Tide get healthy. That's not good news for Clemson ... or Georgia or Oklahoma, either, for that matter.

"Not playing in the SEC championship game gave us an extra week to heal up, get our bodies rejuvenated, and kind of fend off this injury bug that we've had all year," Hentges said. "All throughout the season, we've been losing guys left and right, we're finally starting to get everyone back and healthy."

Hentges started 11 games this season and while he was still used mostly as a blocking tight end, he did have three catch touchdown passes.

"Those are definitely something I'll never forget," Hentges said. "It doesn't matter how many holes you open up in the run game or how many pancakes you get, at the end of the day, people really don't pay attention to that, everyone thinks about catching touchdowns.

"I don't really care about recognition, but it's still nice to see your name in the paper."

There's nice, then there's the National Championship semifinals. The size of this stage and the thrill of the moment are not lost on Hentges, but he approaches it with a healthy dose of perspective.

"At the end of the day, you're just playing football," he said. "You've got to remember that feeling you've had since you were a little kid, the joy and love you have for playing football, putting on the helmet and just making plays. 

"Even though it seems like it's life or death, it's just a game. You need to have fun while you can, because it won't last forever."

Well said. No further review needed.

Hentges talks about near-catch,
matchup with Clemson in semis

Loeffler's Link

Alabama tight end Hale Hentges celebrates with offensive lineman Matt Womack (77) after the 2015 Helias graduate caught a 23-yard touchdown pass in the Crimson Tide's home game with Fresno State on Sept. 9.