Alabama walk-on Lawrence Erekosima got the surprise of a lifetime on Senior Day in Tuscaloosa.

Before Saturday’s Iron Bowl win over Auburn, the senior running back posed for a photo with his family. But one member was a late addition to the photo op. Erekosima’s mother, Jacqueline Page, surprised her son by returning a few months early from Kuwait, where she serves in the U.S. Army.

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Head coach Nick Saban, not usually one to show emotion, got choked up talking about the moment after the game.

“I almost cried,” Erekosima said, according to SEC Country. “I had to hold it in. I dropped one tear like Denzel (Washington).”