Twenty-five years ago this fall, Alabama won its first football national championship of the post-Paul "Bear" Bryant era. The Crimson Tide went 13-0 in 1992 under coach Gene Stallings, reaching the high point between the Bryant and Saban eras of Alabama football.

AL.com's Creg Stephenson interviewed more than 40 players, coaches and staff members from that team, plus other outside observers. Today and over the course of the next few weeks, you'll read the story of that season, in their own words.

(Editor's note: All interviews conducted by AL.com's Creg Stephenson during the summer of 2017 unless otherwise noted. Comments have been slightly edited for clarity and to improve flow. Titles appearing with speaker's names are as they were in 1992).



Click here to go directly to Part 4

Click here to go directly to Part 5

Part I -- Laying the foundation: Curry departs, Stallings arrives, Crimson Tide begins building a champion



Alabama football was in flux in the early 1990s. The Crimson Tide football family was fractured after the retirement and death of legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant following the 1982 season, enjoying regular but unsustained success under coaches Ray Perkins and Bill Curry.

Curry, an outsider from Georgia Tech, took over the Crimson Tide when Perkins left for the NFL in 1987. Curry's 1989 team began the year with 10 straight victories and reached a No. 2 ranking, but lost to Auburn to end the regular season and again to Miami in the 1990 Sugar Bowl, to finish 10-2.

Under fire following three consecutive losses to Auburn, Curry resigned from Alabama and took the job at Kentucky. Crimson Tide athletic director Cecil "Hootie" Ingram hired Gene Stallings, who played for Bryant at Texas A&M and coached for him at Alabama in the early 1960s.

Stallings had a marginal record as a head coach, fired from both Texas A&M and the NFL's Phoenix Cardinals. And yet, he seemed liked a perfect fit when he arrived in Tuscaloosa.

Martin Houston, Alabama fullback (1988-92)

"You have a pretty successful season, and it didn't end the way you expect, lose to Auburn, disappointing loss. And then the Miami game was a good game, but we lost it. And then it's almost like a pile-on, you find out coach Curry's leaving. And you find out he's leaving for Kentucky, so it's kind of the slap in the face."

Roger Shultz, Alabama center (1986-90); graduate assistant coach (1991-92)

"When we get back from the Sugar Bowl he tells us that he's going to leave. I wasn't really surprised; there were some rumblings and all that. And no one ever really accepted Curry. I won't say I was surprised, but it obviously catches you off-guard because I had already went through one coaching change. Coach Perkins sat right in front of the room and said, 'Listen guys I am not going anywhere.' And then we went play in a bowl game and he never came back to Tuscaloosa and he went on with Tampa Bay. So I've kind of been through that before. So we kind of got some rumblings and all that. It was Kentucky (for Curry) and you're thinking, 'there's no way he's going to go to Kentucky.' But whatever, he did it."

Matt Hammond, Alabama offensive lineman (1989-93)

"Most of us were a little bit surprised that Curry made the decision he did, to leave. We went into the Auburn game, first time we ever played at Auburn, and we got beat. And I really think by the end of that game Curry already knew he was leaving. That's just my opinion."

Charles Hollis, Birmingham News Alabama beat writer (1984-93)

"I think it came down to Stallings and (NFL assistant and former Alabama player) Richard Williamson. And I learned about it through my sources while they were interviewing Gene Stallings in Dallas. Hootie Ingram and (faculty athletics representative) Tom Jones were two of the two of the key people that interviewed him in Dallas and of course Roger Sayers, the president. They felt like they hit a home run. He was Bebes. He was the choice that I think they all wanted."

Hootie Ingram, Alabama athletics director (1989-95)

"After we surveyed the field, he emerged as No. 1."

Jim Fuller, Alabama offensive line coach (1983-1996)

"I was excited that he was coming. There were a bunch of names floating around. But I thought that he was a good hire. I couldn't think of anything negative. He's a good man -- a good husband, a good father and a good coach. He was stubborn too, that I found out."

Roy Kramer, SEC commissioner (1990-2002)

"Obviously he had a great background, and he was an Alabama man, so to speak. And if you looked at his personality and his demeanor, he had a lot of Bear Bryant qualities about him. He really did."

Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution writer

"The people that I had always talked to felt like Gene Stallings was really the guy coach Bryant wanted (to replace him) all along. For whatever reason, it did not happen. I just remember talking to the Alabama people, and it was like 'OK, this is the guy. We've gone through Ray Perkins, we've gone through Bill Curry, but this is the guy.' I just remember people being really excited."

Matt Hammond

"All of us knew Stallings' background as one of the Junction Boys. There were a lot of us that were probably afraid that we were going to get taken off to some off-campus site for football camp. The whole, 'out in two buses, back in one' kind of deal."

Roger Shultz

"When he walked in that press conference, I think my quote at the time was 'he walks like John Wayne and talks like Bear Bryant.'"

Derrick Oden, Alabama linebacker (1988-92)

"Coach Curry was probably more of a media coach. There wasn't a whole lot of player connection. He was just a little distant. He always was I guess somewhat intimidating and unapproachable. And then when coach Stallings came in, he was just so much more personable. That's not a knock against coach Curry and I think coach Curry is a great guy. But coach Stallings just seemed more like a father, like there's more invested in the player just in a different way."

Matt Hammond

"He'd spent most of his career in the pros. And that's kind of the way he approached it. Curry, when you first walked on campus, Curry gave you a set of team rules. It was a printed document, bound, etc. Here's Rule 1. You break Rule 1, here's the punishment. And it was several pages long. Stallings comes in, tells us he's got three rules 'Go to class, be a good citizen and try.' That was the first big adjustment, the first time that you could see things were going to be a little bit different."

Hootie Ingram

"Not only had Stallings been there under coach Bryant, but the assistants we brought in were very important in that area. We had some very popular ex-players that were on his staff. That was a great unifier for our program. (Bill) Oliver, Fuller, Mal Moore, Woody McCorvey -- it was a very good football staff."

Gene Stallings, Alabama head coach (1990-96)

"I looked for coaches that could coach positions. We had excellent defensive coaches. Mike DuBose, Bill Oliver, Jeff Rouzie, Ellis Johnson, they were all good people with knowledge of the game. I wanted people who could coach players, and they all did extremely well. Offensively, we had good coaches at every position. So I was blessed with an excellent staff."

Woody McCorvey, Alabama assistant coach (1990-96)

"We had just been terminated at Clemson as a complete staff. And coach Stallings had been talking to Bill Oliver about joining his staff there. While he was talking to coach Stallings about coming down there, he gave coach my name and told him that I was part of the staff at Clemson and I was from Alabama. Coach had some interest, and when Bill went down to accept the job, coach Stallings asked me to come down with him. So I went in and interviewed with coach. I was offered the job, came back, got all my clothes and everything and went to work."

Bill Oliver, Alabama defensive coordinator (1990-95)

"Hootie pretty much had it planned for me to be there regardless of who got the head-coaching job. Hootie's the one who really hired me. When Danny Ford was removed from his position (at Clemson), they wouldn't hire anybody on the staff. I told them if they wanted to interview me, if you would definitely like to hire me, do it now. And if not, I'm not interested in interviewing and wasting time. I knew I had the job going back to Tuscaloosa."

Gene Stallings

"I remember back when I was working for coach Bryant, he'd get a little aggravated at me and he'd say 'don't forget, Mal Moore is as good a football coach as you are.' And I said 'coach, one of these days I'm gonna hire Mal Moore.' So, he was at Notre Dame and the whole staff got fired. I was with the St. Louis Cardinals, and I hired Mal to come in and coach the wide receivers with no pro experience whatsoever. He did an excellent job. He was just super the whole time, both in the pros and at Alabama."

George Teague, Alabama defensive back (1989-92)

"From my personal standpoint, I thought I was going to have a hard time, just because I was recruited by coach Curry. Any time a new coach comes in, you kind of wonder where you fit, how things are going to be. It was a rough time for me. But shortly after coach Stallings got in, it was obvious he was going to be great for the program. He allowed us to be a different type of man, a different type of team. He instilled a sense of discipline, but a little more freedom in terms of letting you grow up into a man. Once coach Stallings came in, it was good."

Derrick Lassic, Alabama running back (1988-92)

"Coach Stallings came in, and he made it clear that if you did what you were supposed to do, you would play. And that's all we wanted, was an opportunity to play."

Steve Busky, Alabama tight end (1988-92)

"You knew right where you stood as soon as you met him. Everything was on the table. He gave you a chance to do right, and if you did right, you stayed right with him. It was that old school, role model, a father figure that you just didn't want to disappoint."

Jay Barker, Alabama quarterback (1990-94)

"When Curry left, coach Stallings came in on the first night after his press conference. Mal Moore called and we talked, and he said 'Will you give us another shot? We know it's late in the process, but we'd love to recruit you. I know that you're a big Alabama fan.' I played it cool, but I was kind of doing cartwheels inside my house."

Antonio Langham, Alabama cornerback (1990-93)

"I don't think coach Curry was really sold on me, so he didn't really recruit me. At that point in time, I was recruited by Tennessee and several other schools. But I was headed to Miami. They were recruiting me real hard. And then Alabama came into play. Then there was a mix-up in something with a recruiter from Miami and my folks. Somehow the recruiter from Miami, he supposedly understood something wrong, and he assumed that he had heard that my folks had wanted me to stay in state and play football. A (Miami coach) called me and he was like 'we wish you the best of luck on your decision because we heard that you folks wanted to stay in state and play football.' I was like 'well that's strange because they haven't said anything to me about staying in state to play football. My recruiting process is wide open.' They messed that up. So Miami fell out of the fold. When (Stallings) gets the job, and then all of a sudden I ended up going on the recruiting board at Alabama. They brought coach Oliver in to seal the deal."

Bill Oliver

"I would like to give Bill Curry and his staff some credit for what they did, and leaving us some football players. You go back and look at it in '92, the higher percentage of them were recruited by Curry. That was the majority of the players there. Give credit where it's due."

Lemanski Hall, Alabama linebacker (1989-93)

"We had talent, man."

George Wilson, Alabama offensive lineman (1988-92)

"We started off 0-3. (Stallings) came in and it was close losses. The first game was a loss to Brett Favre. Then we had a couple of close calls, and we were learning the fundamentals, the team was getting better."

Prince Wimbley

"I think we would have had a phenomenal season in 1990, but four of our starters got hurt in the first couple of games. (Running back) Siran Stacy, myself and (wide receiver) Craig Sanderson were all instrumental to our offense at that particular time. That put a heavy burden on a lot of guys to have to grow up fast."

Gene Stallings

"We lost the first (three) games, and I do not recommend that for somebody coaching at Alabama. We played well; we just didn't win. We lost to Southern Miss when we had close to 500 yards of offense and they had less than 200. We turned the ball over several times. Then we lost to Florida, get a punt blocked and they complete a long pass out of the end zone and win that game. Then we played Georgia, and we're up nine points with nine minutes to play. We end up losing that game. We were playing well, we just weren't winning. I felt like if we could keep doing what we were doing that we'd be OK. But that's not a good start at Alabama."

Woody McCorvey

"The year before (Alabama) had tied for the conference championship, so that didn't sit well with people. But after that, we stayed the course. A lot of basic principles and philosophies that we had instilled and installed, we went back and tweaked some things and we were able to go to Tennessee that year at 2-3 and we won the ball game. Everything kind of turned around. We ended up having a pretty good tenure there because of that."

Alabama assistant coaches (from left to right) Jim Fuller, Woody McCorvey, Bill Oliver and Ellis Johnson are shown in the booth during the 1992 Vanderbilt game. (Photo courtesy of the Paul W. Bryant Museum)

Prince Wimbley

"Coach Stallings went on a run toward the end of that '90 season. We won a lot of ball games. Beat Tennessee, beat Auburn. We lost that (Fiesta Bowl) game to Louisville. They treated that like that was their Super Bowl, like the national championship game. We were treating it like a bowl game, just out there to have fun and enjoy the end of the season."

Chris Anderson, Alabama running back (1990-93)

"We called that the Fiasco Bowl. We had the most fun we ever had at a bowl game -- I'll tell you that. But we never let that happen again. We never lost another bowl game while I was there."

Willie Gaston, Alabama defensive back (1991-94)

"I was part of coach Stallings' first (full) recruiting class. I'll never forget, my mom was talking to coach Stallings. He's sitting there talking to my mom, and the way our living room was set up, I was on the far side of the room. He had on his Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl ring. So I'm sitting there, and every time the light would hit that ring, that diamond would send a glare right into my eye. So I'm just staring at the ring and coach Stallings saw me, and he looked at me and said 'Willie, you like that?' I said 'yes sir.' He said 'you want one?' I said 'yes sir.' He said 'you come to Alabama, you'll get one.' Those were his exact words. I was like 'sold!'"

Sherman Williams, Alabama running back (1991-94)

"I was very interested in LSU, but after getting the opportunity to meet coach Stallings, that's what really gave me a real sense that we are going to have a good team, because coach Stallings was the type of player's coach, very in-tune to the players. When came to the home visit at my house, my mother was very impressed with coach Stallings even though in my heart and in her heart we thought we were going down to Baton Rouge. After the home visit with me and coach Stallings, we had a change of plans."

Tommy Johnson, Alabama defensive back (1991-94)

"When I went to my visit, I went with Sherman Williams and David Palmer and Sam Shade and guys like that. It was like 'whoa,' I really meshed with those guys and we had a great time. We connected real well, and there was some instant chemistry there. I knew then that that's where I wanted to go. Coach Stallings came down and told me 'hey Tommy, you come to Alabama, and in two years we'll win a national championship.'"

Martin Houston

"We practiced the option all spring (in 1991). We were running the option with Danny Woodson. We were going to have an option-based offense. We were going to run some options-based offense with Woodson and take advantage of those unbelievable athletic abilities he had along with his ability to throw the ball. I tell people he was Vince Young of the world before there was Vince Young. If Danny Woodson was coming along today, he'd probably be the first overall pick if he stays out of trouble."

Jay Barker

"Coming back (in 1991) and we competed in spring practice. We pretty much put in the option. We were going to run a lot more than before. But then we came back in the fall and took it out and went right back to what we were doing before. It was crazy. Danny and I were both ready to run the read option."

Martin Houston

"We win (the opener against Temple) and then we lose to Florida. We didn't just lose, we get embarrassed. (Steve) Spurrier said they'd beat us by 35. And he did it."

Chris Anderson

"We got beat down."

Derrick Oden

"It's a great motivating factor, when you're looking at trying to find what you can do to improve, and getting your butt whupped like we got our butt whupped. I mean it stung. But it also stung to the point where it made us want to be better and never allow ourselves to be in that position again."

John Copeland, Alabama defensive end (1991-92)

"I think that Florida game the first year I was there was the deciding game for the '92 team. Going into that game, we thought we were a pretty good football team. After what Florida did to us down there, the seniors called a meeting and pretty much said 'look, that's not happening again.' We went out and did things accordingly. We did everything not to lose, every practice, every rep, everybody was on time, everybody was in meetings, everybody was alert, and that game set the pace for '92."

Jay Barker

"Danny got hurt a couple of times throughout the year, once against Tennessee and I got the chance to come and led us back. Then he got suspended and I started the last four games of the year, finishing up with the Blockbuster Bowl against Colorado. We lost that game to Florida 35-0. It was a horrible loss, an embarrassing loss. But we won the rest of the games and went 11-1."

Prince Wimbley

"We lost that one game in 'The Swamp' to Florida. But that year they didn't have the SEC championship game, because if they did we would have played Florida. We would have played Florida in a rematch, and who knows what would have happened that day? At a neutral site, I think we could have beat the Gators."

Antonio London, Alabama linebacker (1989-92)

The way the 1991 season ended, our total focus was to win. We felt we had the talent to do it."

Part II -- The Deuce is Loose: The rise, fall and redemption of David Palmer

(Photo courtesy of the Paul W. Bryant Museum)

When Gene Stallings took over as Alabama's head coach in 1990, he inherited the core of an excellent team. Several players recruited by predecessor Bill Curry would form the backbone of the 1992 national champions, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.

Stallings went 7-5 in his first season at Alabama, including victories over rivals Tennessee and Auburn. The latter win snapped a four-game losing streak in the Iron Bowl for the Crimson Tide.

Stallings entered the 1990-91 offseason with momentum, and put together one of the greatest recruiting classes in Alabama history, a group that included future stars Sherman Williams, Shannon Brown, Sam Shade, Tommy Johnson, Jon Stevenson, Dameian Jeffries, Willie Gaston and Curtis Brown. However, the jewel of that group was an undersized, do-everything dynamo from Birmingham's Jackson-Olin High School named David Palmer.

Palmer was named Alabama's Mr. Football as a high school senior in 1990-91, when he totaled 3,233 all-purpose yards and 42 touchdowns in 11 games. He would become a mythical figure during his three years with the Crimson Tide and a Heisman Trophy finalist as a junior in 1993, but also hit some memorable bumps in the road in 1992.



Sam Shade, Alabama safety (1991-94)

"David and I we went all the way back to little league football. We actually played against each other for years in little league ball. Our last year of park ball, before we went to high school, we actually played together. What everybody saw at Alabama, I had been seeing since little league ball."



Charles Hollis, Birmingham News Alabama beat writer (1984-93)

"He was almost a legendary name in the Birmingham metro area. This was a guy that wasn't very big, but he could do things that just seemed superhuman."



Gene Stallings, Alabama head coach (1990-96)

"I guess he's as good as I've ever seen. Every time he got the ball, you felt like he had a chance to score. He was an excellent receiver, an exciting return man, and we played him some at quarterback and he did a good job at quarterback. He was an outstanding athlete that could perform at any position we asked him to play."



Prince Wimbley, Alabama wide receiver (1988-92)

"When I saw David in high school, I knew we were recruiting a special athlete, because he played quarterback, he played running back, he played receiver, he played defensive back, he was the punter and he was the extra-point kicker. When I saw that I was like 'wow, we've got to have this guy.'"



Woody McCorvey, Alabama assistant coach (1990-96)

"I went up with Jim Fuller one night to Birmingham, Legion Field and watched him play in a high school game, and he was no doubt the most exciting football player that I had seen on the field from a coaching standpoint."



Antonio Langham, Alabama cornerback (1990-93)

"We had an off-week ... and coach Stallings let practice out and said 'if y'all are going to watch high school football tonight, if you get a chance, go over to Central Tuscaloosa and watch this kid from Jackson-Olin named David Palmer and tell me what y'all think.' We went over to the game, and I know football is a team sport, but this dude, he almost single-handedly beat Central Tuscaloosa by himself. If this guy don't trip him up by shoestrings on a kickoff return, that's ball game. I'm talking about, he did everything from quarterback to running back to wide receiver. One time I could've sworn he was at quarterback and threw a pass and then ran out there and caught it. He was doing so much that night. We got back to practice that following week, we were asked about him. We were looking around like, 'If y'all don't get this dude, something's wrong with recruiting around here.'"

Jim Fuller, Alabama assistant coach (1984-96)

"I didn't know that we were going to get David until the night prior to signing day. He wanted to have a press conference. I said 'I ain't coming to no press conference.' Number 1, I want to know if you're going to be with the Crimson Tide or you're going to be somewhere else. And he was recruited by some heavy hitters. David had several places he could go, all good football schools, good academic schools. But I wasn't going to a press conference. I'm not into going in and having them put the hats on and they're changing around, when you could be out there working. He told me the night before that he was going to commit to us. So I said 'I'll mark it down and call it in to the boss.' It was exciting that day and many days after that."

David Palmer, Alabama wide receiver (1991-93), to Tuscaloosa News, 2012

"I really wanted to attend Florida State, but I thought it was in my best interest to attend Alabama because I could play my freshman year. I thought I could get on the field. I had three kids. It was about 45 minutes away, so I could get back home and see my kids."

Sherman Williams, Alabama running back (1991-94)

"David and I were actually in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game together, and (became) good friends. We both knew that we were going to (Alabama), so we said we'd be roommates when we got there. We both were in school early that summer before the rest of the freshmen. So we got to know each other pretty good, became real good friends."

Antonio Langham

"I was a sophomore and starting, when he came in. I'm telling you, David Palmer had so much hype around him coming in."

Martin Houston, Alabama fullback (1988-92)

"You hear all the hype and you hear it every year. You're the guy one year, and then the next four years, you hear who the other guy is. And most of the time, the guys are good but they're not ready to play as freshmen. Back then, most of the time the guy was just a superstar because he was so much better than every other high school kid. Well it didn't take long for us to figure out that Palmer was as advertised."

John Copeland, Alabama defensive end (1991-92)

"I remember the first time I saw David do anything, we were having a scrimmage at the stadium, a closed scrimmage. We got to the special teams part of the scrimmage doing punt returns. Me and Eric (Curry) were just sitting on the sideline, kind of shooting the breeze, not paying that much attention. But when David got that ball in his hands, I hit Eric in the chest and said 'look at this!' I'd never seen anything like that. Evidently, coach Stallings knew something, because he never did special teams live. But this was a live scrimmage just to see him play, and David ate it up."

Antonio Langham

"The first punt of practice, they kick it to him and he housed it. He housed it, untouched. Nobody put a hand on him. I was like 'this is crazy.'"

Martin Houston

"He's coming down the sideline and I'm like the safety guy. A couple guys kind of have of him hemmed in and he has nowhere to go. There's a sideline, me and my teammate. I went for him all out and I remember sliding off the sideline headed toward the fence at Bryant-Denny on the press box side. I can still see it today, as he made some type of little jab-step move and cut back inside and then hopped back out behind me and he was gone."

Derrick Lassic, Alabama running back (1989-92)

"He was a freak of nature. To see the kid off the field, out of pads, you'd think there was no way in the world that kid could do that on the field. Besides Barry Sanders, he was the most elusive player I ever saw in real life."

Tommy Johnson, Alabama defensive back (1991-94)

"When you really understood that he was obviously a special player, I can remember like it was yesterday, his first punt return in college a freshman, if I'm not mistaken it was at Vanderbilt. They punt it to him, he catches it, about five guys are surrounding him. He shakes, and he gets skinny and goes between two guys and right up the sideline for a 70-odd yard touchdown. I can remember making a block at the back end of that. We thought 'this kid is pretty darn special.'"

David Palmer (to WNSP Radio, 2016)

"The one that put me on the map was in the (1991) Blockbuster Bowl. Before we played that game their coach (Colorado's Bill McCartney) ... said, 'David Palmer if you're gonna run one back against us, run one back early in the game.' I made that come true for him. I think that was one of the most exciting runs I had."

Eli Gold, Alabama radio announcer (1989-present)

"My color man, Doug Layton, was the one who coined 'the Deuce is loose' in the middle of a game when he was running. Every time he touched the ball, it could be for a touchdown. It could be a huge play... Either he was electrifying at that moment, or the build-up, the anticipation of what he might do, was electrifying. 'When we come back, Bama's getting the ball, the Deuce will be back to receive the kickoff.' You'd tease as you went to the commercial break. 'Hey folks, don't you dare leave now, because anything could happen as we come back.'"

Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Dabo Swinney tells the joke, I don't know how true it is, that 'I'd be over there on one side, and Deuce would be over on the other. And there were four guys guarding him, and nobody was guarding me.'"

Joey McLeod, Alabama student trainer (1990-94)

"On his birthday, they were trying to catch him and give him a birthday whipping. We were in the indoor facility. It seemed like it took them 35 minutes to catch him. It was funny watching all those big defensive linemen trying to chase him around to catch him. You couldn't get your hands on him; he was so fast."

(Photo courtesy of the Paul W. Bryant Museum)

Antonio Langham

"We started having legendary one-on-one battles at practice. Our one-on-one practices became so intense ... we were going so hard that they took our helmets from us. They took my helmet and they took Deuce's helmet. Because if he won one, I would run right back up and I would call him back up. And then if I won, he'd call me back up. We probably would have gone about five or six times in a row before we had let anybody else go. Finally, coach Stallings was like 'take their helmets. Let somebody go, because these two here, they will go all day.' Even coach (Bill) Oliver, he came over one day and took my helmet and said 'this is not going to go on today. You two are going to hurt each other. We need y'all out there.'"

Charles Hollis

"He was suspended for the 1992 opener for DUI. And what happens after Alabama beats Vanderbilt, Palmer's arrested again for DUI. I remember going to Shelby County and talking to the Shelby County D.A., and you wondered what the future was."

Sherman Williams

"We were all up in Sylacauga. He was coming down (Highway) 280 after visiting Dameian Jeffries in Sylacauga. All of us were together. We were up there having a good time, some social event going on up there. David decided he wanted to drive back from Sylacauga (to Birmingham), it was 20-30 minutes. He felt like he could drive home. And then we heard about the accident."



Terry Smith, Chelsea resident (to the Associated Press, June 29, 1992)

"I was going about 45 mph. I was shifting into fourth gear when he hit me. He hit me dead in the tailgate. It smashed the bed of the truck over the top of the cab. The police said they had him running about 100 mph."



Prince Wimbley

"We don't know which direction it was going to go. We knew he was going to be suspended, but for how long, nobody really knew that."



John Copeland

"This guy was most of our offense. It was a huge concern. There was some time there where nobody knew what was going to happen. But we went out and went to work. We never considered not having him on the team. We never talked about him not being there."



Kevin Lee, Alabama wide receiver (1989-93)

"When all that went down, we pulled together. We actually had a private meeting, the coaches didn't know anything about it. We were at the dorm, locked the doors, and we sat around and talked. There are things that we need to do for one another. When you see somebody else drinking, let's watch out for our teammates. No matter what you say, you don't need to drive. We vowed from that point on, when we go out, let's all go out together. If we go out and everybody decides we want to stay out past curfew, everybody in the morning was going to run. That's just what's going to happen. We're all going to suffer the consequences together."

Sherman Williams

"We talked about it, and decided he was going to not drive after consumption of alcohol, not to mention that we were underage.



Woody McCorvey

"One thing, you knew David needed some guidance. And at a program like Alabama, when you've got a player like David that gets into a situation like that, naturally the media and everybody else is going to be heavily involved in it. But you want to give him a chance, because that was his first time really being in (trouble) at Alabama."



Derrick Lassic

"We definitely knew he was going to be suspended, whether or not he was going to be able to come back on that team was another thing. I don't recall a coach asking the captains about it, (Stallings) just made an executive decision."



Victor Lockett, Alabama linebacker (1989-93)

"I think he ran him and moved him out of the dorm. I don't know if the media got wind of that."



Sherman Williams

"We figured that there could be some consequences. It's just Vanderbilt, OK. We could probably beat Vanderbilt. ... So we felt like there was enough punishment. He missed one game. But after that, it didn't get better."



Derrick Oden, Alabama linebacker (1988-92)

"You play football at the University of Alabama, expectations nonetheless are high, but also too, everybody wants a piece of you, everybody wants to be part of it, they want to be able to say they were part of that."



Sherman Williams

"The night at the Citizens Club, young girls being young girls and young men being young men -- women and men and booze can be a deadly combination. We were at the Citizens Club, just hanging out, doing what we do. And then, there was some drama. The girls get in their feelings, and we've got to leave, we've got to make an early exit. It wasn't that the cops were called to get David arrested. When they gave the description of us leaving, they gave the description to the cops and the cops just flagged the car. When the other young lady or whoever it was that made the call, when they described the car, it just so happened that David was driving. He wasn't supposed to be driving, because we had already talked about that."



Antonio Langham

"At this point, it's either somebody that don't really like Alabama football or at that point they're just somebody is trying to make a little name for themselves."



Martin Houston

"I ain't gonna say David Palmer wasn't profiled. Did the police, did they all know who that was before they stopped him? You know what I mean? I make no excuses for what he did because what he did was against the law. But had any other student been in the exact same situation, it probably would not have led to that second (arrest)."



John Copeland

"The second time, it kind of speaks for itself. Had David Palmer not been David Palmer, he wouldn't have got a third chance. But at that point, he was David Palmer. We knew he was coming back at some point."



Antonio Langham

"You kick David off the team and send him home, then he's going to stand on that street corner every bit of thirty minutes. It's going to be every school in America after him."



Martin Houston

"We didn't want David kicked off the team, because we knew that what was waiting for David if he got kicked off the team was not good. And if there was a way to punish him and help him learn a lesson, the best thing would be will be for him to be around the team and with his teammates, whether he played again -- early in the season, late in the season or not."



Gene Stallings

"He grew up in a tough environment. His mother was doing the best she could to raise him and several other kids. Best I remember, he did not have a father at that time. He needed to be in a good environment. And the football team was a good environment for him. I felt like he needed to be in that environment."



David Palmer (to 78 Magazine, 2014)

"If it weren't for (Stallings), my career might have been over. People wanted to give up on me, but coach Stallings wouldn't let that happen. The whole thing cost me a whole lot, caused me a lot of off-the-field stress. But I owe a lot of my success to Gene Stallings."



Jay Barker, Alabama quarterback (1990-94)

"(Stallings') biggest thought on it was 'David needs Alabama more than Alabama needs David right now.' His situation, where he'd come from, it was true. David and I were in close in college. He rode home with me back and forth from Birmingham, so I saw some of the situation he was coming from. The worst thing for him would have been to be kicked off and go back where he'd come from. He needed to be in Tuscaloosa, needed to be around people that cared about him and loved him. Not to say there weren't people who cared about him there, but the environment was not conducive to what he could become, and that's an NFL player and a college football star, and a Heisman Trophy finalist."



Hootie Ingram, Alabama athletics director (1989-95)

"When you have a situation like that, every case is different. You can't set up a deal like if you run a red light, you get fined $500. Or you shoot somebody, you stay in prison so many years. Dealing with young people, you've got to take each case individually. If you've got somebody that's going to damage the rest of the squad, you want to get rid of them. If they just used some bad judgment, and it doesn't affect the rest of the team, I think one of your jobs is to try and resurrect people."



Jim Fuller

"After David got the second DUI, coach Stallings came in. He said y'all get out a pencil and a paper and write this down. He said 'I want to know what y'all think we ought to do with David Palmer. Just pass them up here to me.' We all put down what we thought, and it was unanimous among all the assistant coaches including myself, what we thought that we should do. He said 'well, that's about what I thought. Every one of y'all wanted to get rid of David, including Fuller, even you. You know more about David Palmer than anybody in this room. Just tell me what your thoughts are there.' And I told him. And he said 'well, David Palmer, we may not be able to help him football-wise, but we can help him stay in school, stay in the dorm -- because he needs supervision, and he needs somebody to work with him.' And so he did and I thought it was a really -- had to have been tough decision at that particular time. But I thought coach Stallings made the call, and it was a tough call. It was for him, and it was for all of us. And as it turned out, it was the best thing to do."



Woody McCorvey

"One of the biggest things that coach (Stallings) did was he made him come to practice. He couldn't miss anything, he couldn't miss class. He traveled, but he couldn't play. He never told anybody when he was going to let David play again. And it went for a while, and David saw that we were winning football games without him. And he knew that if he was going to save his career, to be able to go on and play football at Alabama, and then after that, there were some things he was going to have to change about his life."



Paul Finebaum, Birmingham Post-Herald

"I feel like, in some ways, that was one of the embarrassing parts of that season. Gene Stallings, say whatever you want about him, I'm a big fan of his -- he sold his soul to keep David Palmer on that team. David Palmer should have been kicked off. He certainly should have been suspended for far more games than he was. ... I just remember hearing about the second incident and I could not believe that Gene Stallings didn't do anything significant about that. I think Gene Stallings knew he needed David Palmer to win a national championship and he did."



Tony Barnhart

"You always wonder if it's another player, would you handle it differently? If it's the backup left tackle, would you handle it differently? I happen to have a great deal of respect for Gene Stallings. While it was a difficult situation, I just respected him a lot, and thought he would handle it the right way."



Matt Hammond, Alabama offensive lineman (1989-93)

"Everything I've read on David since then, that really made an impact on his life and gave him a shot he probably wouldn't have otherwise had. So you can't really question it."



Gene Stallings

"We needed to get his attention. I think the worst thing you can do for a player is get him off if he's guilty without any kind of punishment. So I felt like a three-game suspension was enough punishment for David. He handled it, handled it like a man and came back and played extremely well."



Prince Wimbley

"David, the days of the suspension, he worked hard in practice. He played scout team. He made our defense better of course, playing scout team. And when it was time for him to get back off suspension, he was ready to go."



Charles Hollis

"He has a three-game suspension and returns against Louisiana Tech. Alabama had kicked two Michael Proctor field goals, it's 6-0 and seems like there's about eight minutes to go. Palmer cut loose on a 63-yard punt return. He was that kind of game breaker."



Steve Busky, Alabama tight end (1988-92)

"They were a physical team. They were prepared for us. And then (Palmer) broke that open, and it was like 'there it is.' Sometimes it just takes something to get you going. You know it just takes something, and when that happens, I'm like 'Man, thank you. Somebody had to do it."



Willie Gaston, Alabama defensive back (1991-94)

"They called the punt return team the 'score team' back then. I was on there, Dabo Swinney was on there. It was primarily skill people, wide receivers and defensive backs."



Antonio Langham

"They kick it to him and he catches it, and I'm thinking 'either they don't know, or he didn't realize he was back there when he punted it to him.' That boy made about three moves. And the last thing I see when I look back is him pointing at me like 'get the kicker.' I'm like 'why you want me to block the kicker? If you and that kicker went one-on-one 25 times, that kicker would not touch you 25 times.' I remember the TV camera was sitting on a little podium right there (in the end zone). And he ran right to the camera and he stopped, and you can see the camera shot right in his face. You can read his lips, and he said 'I'm back.' I'll never forget that."



Chris Donnelly, Alabama safety (1992-93)

"He hadn't played in three weeks. I don't even know if he stretched before the game. And then he goes out and does that. It just showed the talent that he has. We were glad he came back that day."

Roger Shultz, Alabama center (1986-90), graduate assistant coach (1991-92)

"That's when you go 'that's what makes him special.' He comes back and what does he do? He scores a touchdown that puts the game out of reach. You hear coaches all the time say 'hey, get the playmaker the ball.' Well, they got the playmaker the ball."



Chris Donnelly

"We played the first three games without him and it forced us to call on other people to make plays. Late in the year, if we needed a play, we'd just go to him."

(Photo courtesy of the Paul W. Bryant Museum)





Woody McCorvey

"In the Miami (national championship) game, that punt return, that set up everything right there in the beginning. When they punted to him and he had a good return."

Sherman Williams

"I remember David making that punt return. People look at offense and defense, but special teams can really change a game. David gave us momentum on that punt return and we never gave it back."



Chris Donnelly

"When David returned that punt, that stadium was 75 percent Alabama, maybe more, maybe 85 percent. The game was loud when it started. It probably started at about a 6. When he ran that back, then that decibel level hit about a 10. And it never got below nine the rest of the game."



George Teague, Alabama defensive back (1989-92)

"When the Deuce gets loose returning them punts, watch out. I'd put (Palmer) right up there with Deion Sanders in the league. It was just electrifying."



Derrick Lassic

"He probably could have been the starting running back, starting receiver and starting quarterback on that 92 team. That's how good David Palmer was. He executed plays at quarterback during practice, that for some reason we never really used those plays. We had a lot of those plays in the game plan. I remember saying to myself 'Gee, when are we ever going to use these plays?' I think they were preparing for the next year."



Willie Gaston

"I tell people to this day had David stayed for his senior year (1994), we would have played for another national championship. His junior year, he finished third for the Heisman."



Woody McCorvey

"I was on a radio show (in South Carolina) the other day, and the guy asked me who was the best football player that I had ever coached? And just like that, I said 'David Palmer.' He said 'you said that mighty quick.' I said 'There was no doubt.'"



Chris Anderson, Alabama running back (1990-93)

"Bar none, this kid's the best athlete I've ever seen with my two eyes. Y'all saw the stuff he did in games, but the stuff he did in practice was unbelievable too. He wasn't but (150, 160 pounds) at the most, but he could stop on a dime and give you change for it. Just a freakish athlete. It's just God-given talent that comes around probably every 20, 30 years."

Part III -- 'Slipping & sliding': Carried by defense, Alabama rolls to 7-0 start

Alabama super fans, Jerry Bogle and Troy Ferguson, AKA "The Roll Tide Guys" are shown during the 1992 Vanderbilt game. (Photo courtesy of the Paul W. Bryant Museum)

Coming off an 11-1 finish in Gene Stallings' second year, Alabama entered the 1992 season ranked No. 9 nationally in the Associated Press poll, well behind defending co-national champions Miami and Washington.

Alabama wasn't even the top-ranked SEC team in the preseason, with reigning conference champion Florida checking in at No. 4. The Gators, with coach Steve Spurrier and quarterback Shane Matthews executing the "Fun N' Gun" offense, had routed Alabama 35-0 in Gainesville early in the 1991 season.

Alabama had a returning starter at quarterback in Jay Barker, plus five experienced offensive linemen and do-everything threat David Palmer. Still, it was a defense with seven returning starters -- including All-America candidates Eric Curry and John Copeland at defensive end -- that was expected to be the team's strength.



Alabama won its final 10 games in 1991, including a 30-25 victory over national power Colorado in the Blockbuster Bowl. However, the loss to Florida still resonated with the Crimson Tide players as the 1992 season began.



George Teague, Alabama defensive back (1989-92)

"We didn't lose again after that. That was kind of a defining moment for our team and where we going to be, even going into the next year. We were very confident, and knew if we played well my senior year, it was going to be hard for anybody to beat us."



Antonio Langham, Alabama cornerback (1990-93)

"We were losing some key guys, but we were bringing back a bunch of key guys too, so it was just a matter of us in the offseason dedicating ourselves to the process. We went into the offseason training like crazy. We came into the fall focused with one goal in mind, and that was just to finish what we started in '91."



Eli Gold, Alabama radio play-by-play announcer (1988-present)

"I don't know if I realized it at the time. We all knew how potent the defense was, with Curry and Copeland as the bookends, let alone everybody else. You knew that they weren't going to give up many points. I don't know that anyone can ever be bold enough, or silly enough, to presume a championship, but I think we all knew it was a very good team, it just remained to be seen how good."



Mario Morris, Alabama linebacker (1990-93)

"I think we had some of the best coaches around. And then we had a lot of guys (who) really wanted to get after it. We were very deep. We had a lot of players. I mean we could go two-deep on you, pretty much at any position."



Hootie Ingram, Alabama athletics director (1989-95)

"There's no question that in his day, (Bill Oliver) was the finest defensive coach in the country, in my opinion."



John Copeland, Alabama defensive end (1991-92)

"I think that guy's a genius. We would go into football games knowing exactly what the opponent is about to do, sometimes before they would do it. It's not the big picture with coach Oliver, it's all the big things that add up to the big picture. It could be something as small as 'if this guy lines up here, this is going to happen. If he lines up here, this is going to happen.' It was all those little things that put us ahead of the game."



Sam Shade, Alabama safety (1991-94)

"Probably half of the guys in our secondary had been mainly offensive guys in high school. Antonio Langham was a really good receiver. George Teague was a great offensive player. Tommy Johnson was a great offensive player, great receiver at Niceville. And then myself playing running back, I just thought (Oliver) did a great job of finding athletes and putting them in position to be successful."



Victor Lockett, Alabama linebacker (1989-93)

"We had the premier defensive ends: John Copeland and Eric Curry. Those guys were just monsters up front. Eric Curry was the tallest, skinniest guy I'd ever seen. And John Copeland was just a country strong type dude."



Mario Morris

"Those guys were just dominant. It was very tough to run on either side of us, or to drop back and pass because those guys could defeat any single player that they went up against and sometimes defeated double teams. Teams had to scheme for them."



Bill Oliver, Alabama defensive coach (1990-95)

"Didn't realize Copeland was already signed when we got there. Nobody knew anything about him. He came out of junior college. Didn't take long. And what a great guy. Both of them. Both great guys, great players. Very instinctive."



Matt Hammond, Alabama offensive lineman (1989-93)

"When you practiced against those two day-in and day-out, you never faced anybody on Saturday that was any better. So games often were easier than practices when it came to the quality of people you were playing against. And I played against a lot of good players during my time. But I never played anybody that was any better than those two."



Eric Curry, Alabama defensive end (1990-92)

"That's why we got the nickname 'the Bookends.' He took care of his side of the field, which was his domain, and I took care of mine. Truthfully speaking, there was never a beef or rivalry between us. We knew we had to perform at our peak. We were both hard, hard workers."



John Copeland

"It got to a point where I thought my name was Copeland Curry. Everywhere I went, that's all I heard. Probably the best thing that ever happened to me was Eric Curry. I tell people all the time, without Eric Curry, I don't know if there would be a John Copeland. Or without John Copeland, I don't know if there would be Eric Curry. Us being at that place at the same time, and the kind of personality that we both had, we pushed each other to the limit. I wasn't going to let Eric out-do me, and he wasn't going to let me out-do him."



George Teague

"We knew that if we covered them for a while, Curry and Copeland were going to get the quarterback on the ground. I give them credit for me getting drafted, actually, because they made me a better defensive back, allowed me to make plays that I probably wouldn't have been able to make with another group of linemen."



Tommy Johnson, Alabama defensive back (1991-94)

"Teague was such a leader back there. A lot of people don't realize about Teague is he's a very, very smart guy. Teague's knowledge of what we were trying to do was very, very high. With Teague, Chris Donnelly and Sam Shade, there's not too many times that we were lined up wrong, that we weren't where we were supposed to be."



Kevin Lee, Alabama wide receiver (1989-93)

"Ones on ones was always at the end of practice, and it was something we looked forward to. We knew how good our defensive backs were. They were they were really good at their game. They taught a lot of us how to watch film. I would ask Langham and Teague 'what is it that you see that I'm doing that tips you off on what route that I'm running?' They would tell me, 'we watch your hips and we watch your body language. If you stay more on a narrow path, we don't know which way you're going.' They wanted to be good."



Antonio Langham

"It was always a competition on interceptions. If I had one in a game, George wanted two. If George had two, I wanted three. And the battle never became personal, to the point where we weren't doing our jobs just for the sake of getting interceptions, it came at the end of the season. At the end of the season, we'd go to the stats and find out 'OK, who led the SEC in interceptions. Was it me or was it George? Who led our team?'



Jay Barker, Alabama quarterback (1990-94)

"I get asked 'who's the best defense you ever played against?' 'Easy, the one in practice in '92.'"



Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution sports writer

"I've said this a million times, that the 1992 Alabama defense is the best one I've seen. Now, Alabama has had some great ones in the Saban era, but when you think about those two All-Americans at defensive end and the overall strength of the players on that team, I still think it's the best that I've seen."



Gene Stallings, Alabama head coach (1990-96)

"I read an article not too terribly long ago, where they voted the 1992 team the best defensive team of all-time. They were extremely good. They led the nation in run defense, pass defense, total defense, giving up the fewest points. They were an outstanding defensive team. We had good players. They were well-coached, and that's a tough combination to beat."



Derrick Oden, Alabama linebacker (1988-92)

"We want to keep you from driving the ball and force you to punt, because we've got (David Palmer) back there that's a game changer that give us 20-30 yards on the return, if he doesn't break it all the way. At the same time, too, you've got a guy like Michael Proctor that can put it through the uprights. We understood our team philosophy. You see a lot of our wins were 6-3, 9-3, 9-0. It was that mentality we carried into every week -- we've got to win the battle of field position."



Charles Hollis, Birmingham News Alabama beat writer (1984-93)

"That team was built on defense. The offense was a bigger unknown going into that season with Jay Barker."



Gene Stallings

"The players had a lot of confidence in Jay. He would provide you with good leadership. As far as a passing quarterback, he wasn't a passing quarterback. But he made the big plays."



Matt Hammond

"The biggest memory that sticks in my mind on Jay is in the spring before that year. ... I remember us getting into a third-down situation and we ran some kind of option. We needed two or three yards to get a first down. And Jay turned it up, lowered his head and took one a lick from one the linebackers. Took a dang good shot. He gets the first down. He comes back to the huddle, he's got blood streaming out of his mouth. And I think it was at that point that everybody up front, the O-line, looked at him and said 'hey, this kid's got something. We like this guy. He's tough.'"



Tony Barnhart

"You knew he was going to throw it to the right guy, and not the wrong guy. You knew he was going to get you out of a bad play and into the right play. Because he was such a good game manager... I don't think people gave him credit for being a really, really talented athlete. But he was the perfect quarterback for that team, because he was surrounded by a lot of really good players."



Bill Oliver

"We didn't play with a high-powered offense every week, to say the least."



Jim Fuller, Alabama offensive line coach (1984-96)

"I can remember Brother Oliver looking down at me in the press box and saying 'do y'all think could get a first down? Just one first down?' I remember taking all them papers I had in front of me, I threw them right at Brother Oliver and said 'you're so smart, you call the offense. You go ahead and get on the phone and tell them what you want to do.' It was a little bit stronger than that."



Woody McCorvey, Alabama offensive coach (1990-96)

"I felt like Jay provided us what we really needed in terms of leadership."



Curtis Brown, Alabama wide receiver (1991-94)

"He just had that fire in his eye, you know what I mean? He wanted to prove to everyone that he could do it. Jay was a guy that just continuously worked at his craft. He probably wasn't the best, but he just worked his craft."



Jay Barker

"We had a great defense. My job at that time in '92 was to manage the offense. Don't put the defense in a bad situation by turning the ball over. Play field position. Get first downs. Move them back where you want to punt or you want to kick, you want them drive 80 yards or more to score. If you can't score a touchdown or kick a field goal, make them drive 80 yards for a touchdown."



Prince Wimbley, Alabama wide receiver (1988-92)

"As long as Jay just played within his parameters, we were going to be just fine because we had a great running game with Derrick Lassic and Martin Houston. And then if we need to throw the ball we had great receivers, David Palmer, Kevin Lee and myself and Curtis Brown to carry the load in the air if we needed it."

Roosevelt Patterson, Alabama offensive lineman (1989-93)

"We did things to play to Jay's strengths as a quarterback. He kept us calm. He had trust in the offensive line. The coaches did a great job of putting Barker in a position to win. Those were our goals, to come out and run and win the game."

(Photo courtesy of the Paul W. Bryant Museum)





Derrick Lassic, Alabama running back (1989-92)

"We were very, very competitive, so it made us better. But we were a close-knit group of guys. To this day, 'RBs for Life' is our saying. There was no jealousy. I was more of a slasher. Sherman (Williams') style and my style were very similar. Chris (Anderson) was more of an outside runner, fast feet type of guy. If he got to the corner, you weren't going to catch him. He had that track speed. I was the fastest of the three in the 40, but I think Chris was the fastest of the three in the 100."



Martin Houston, Alabama fullback (1988-92)

"(Lassic) didn't have a lot of long runs, but he had a lot of those you know 20, 25-yard runs where he'd get outside and run by somebody. ... If you could go back and look at his career, he never ran out of bounds. So he was hard-nosed and once he got past those nagging injuries that he had fought through early in his career, he proved to be a really, really solid running back and a guy that he and I really meshed having been roommates as freshmen. We were able to have a good chemistry on the field. He was a joy to block for."



Kevin Lee

We knew we could run sweeps and stuff, because our (receivers) would be in the right place. It was pretty lonely out there. We don't get many opportunities."



Chris Anderson

We didn't care how we got it done, we just had to find a way to win. We didn't care if it was 2-0 or 52-0. We blew a lot of teams out and some teams played us close. Teams were going to play us harder than they played anybody else. If you beat Alabama, that's just a notch in your belt."



George Teague

"We didn't get any respect. It was unbelievable to us that we weren't on the radar. Maybe it was because we weren't flashy. We weren't cocky at all. Our offense wasn't flashy. A lot of people don't put much stock in 13-7 games or 7-6 games or 10-7 games, or whatever our scores were. It was not very appealing. So we kind of flew under the radar."



Martin Houston

"It was mostly (ESPN's) Beano Cook and Lee Corso that we heard. There wasn't quite that much noise that there is now. It was kind of frustrating because they were people just were refusing to give us any credit."



Corky Simpson, Tucson Citizen sports writer

"The NCAA used to have a gathering called the College Football Forum in Kansas City. In February of that year, they invited a dozen sports writers from around the country and I think about that many college football coaches. ... My friend Bill Lumpkin with the Birmingham (Post-Herald) was there. We got to talking about football and he said, 'you know, I think if Alabama can beat Tennessee this year, they'd have a shot at the national championship.' So that stuck in my mind. A little later that year, the Associated Press asked me to join its weekly poll. I had never participated in it before. I said 'sure' and I did. When time came later on that year for the preseason ranking, I remembered what Bill told me, so I put Alabama No. 1. And then the football season started, and Alabama kept winning and winning, and I kept voting for them."



***



Alabama struggled out of the gate offensively in 1992, capping a season-opening 25-8 win over Vanderbilt with an interception return for a touchdown by linebacker Michael Rogers and beating Southern Miss 17-10 on the strength of a 71-yard fake punt touchdown pass from punter Bryne Diehl to defensive back Tommy Johnson. The Crimson Tide got its offense going in a 31-11 win at Arkansas, only to take a step back in a closer-than-expected 13-0 win over Louisiana Tech.



Alabama routed South Carolina 48-7 on homecoming and won 37-6 at Tulane to improve to 6-0, moving up to No. 4 in the national rankings in the process. That set the stage for a showdown with No. 13 Tennessee on Oct. 20 in Knoxville.



George Wilson, Alabama offensive lineman (1989-92)

"We started off the season slow, I think probably our defense was playing great. We were sputtering on offense. We were trying to find -- it was like a slow start. And it was like 'hey catch up.' We were kind of slipping and sliding each way."



Lemanski Hall

"All I saw was Big Mike, get a tipped interception -- go get a block. And all I saw was Mike got that ball and I was turning and the first guy I saw was the quarterback. And all I wanted to do is rip his freaking head off. And get Mike in the end zone and I did."



Michael Rogers, Alabama linebacker (1990-94)

"That was awesome. We worked on that play all week long. Coaches told me, 'Michael, you've got to be ready for that play.' I saw the tight end come that way, I knew what was coming. And it was unbelievable. Of course, Lemanski got all the glory for the block. But people forget I had to set him up for it."



Antonio London, Alabama linebacker (1989-92)

"The majority of our games in '92 were a dogfight. Very rarely did we ever play with a comfortable lead. Most of the time it was always nip and tuck. We accepted that challenge. Our mentality was 'if we win on D, count on me.' We had a song that we would sing 'win on D, count on me, keep on swarmin'."



John Copeland

"We were used to being in those situations. As a defense, we thrived in those situations. We wanted to be on the football field, and I think coach Stallings wanted us on the field. We never panicked, especially during the '92 season, because we had already been in that situation so many times before."



Bryne Diehl, Alabama punter (1991-94)

"The fake punt touchdown I threw to Tommy Johnson (against Southern Miss) was a highlight. How many highlights does a punter have? Most punters have lowlights."



Tommy Johnson, Alabama defensive back (1991-94)

"It was one of those things where I lined up and I couldn't believe that I was that wide open. I'm like, 'there's got to be somebody around me.' But I just kind of gave Bryne Diehl a little wave with the hand and he looked at me and threw it over there. And I can remember a trail of guys blocking for me and the rest was a natural thing for me."



Bryne Diehl

"It wasn't 'called,' per se, but coach said 'if you want to fake it, do it.' I said 'OK, no problem.' I turn around, look at Tommy and Tommy looks at me smiling. I start hollering the code word to snap it now, just snap it. My personal protector, Craig Harris, looked at me like 'are you serious?' I say 'red, red, red' -- the code name. Everybody got set, and we snap it, and I threw it to Tommy, and the rest was history. I didn't have to do anything but just get it to him."



Curtis Brown

"Obviously a tough place to play over in Arkansas, but it just seemed like everything started clicking for us especially (on) offense. And I think at that point we kind of felt like it was going to be our year."



Chris Anderson

"I remember going into the end zone backwards. A guy hit me and got me turned around. And then (ESPN's) Robin Roberts saying 'go on with your bad self' on SportsCenter. And (future) President (Bill) Clinton was in the audience too. So we got to show off for him."



Tommy Johnson

"The thing about each one of those games is, I don't ever remember being worried that we were going to lose. I really don't. I don't ever remember thinking to myself 'we're going to lose this game.' We never had that thought in our heads, not that I can remember. We were never on the sideline worried that we were going to lose."



Sherman Williams, Alabama running back (1991-94)

"I remember La Tech being a very tough team, one of the toughest games we played. I don't know if we played down because it was La Tech."



Martin Houston

"Everybody forgets that Willie Roaf was the tackle. That was the only guy I saw that held his own against Copeland and Curry."



Antonio London

"All I can remember was Willie Roaf. They'd snap the ball and I felt Copeland on my heels. I was like 'this has never happened before. This is going to be a long day, if Cope is stepping on my heels.'"



Willie Gaston, Alabama defensive back (1992-94)

"I'm standing there, and Willie Roaf looked at me and said '22, 22' (Gaston's number). I'm like 'Lord, please don't let them run the ball over here.' Every time they came out, he'd call me out, I guess to let them know what personnel we were in."



Lemanski Hall

"What a game, man. That game was really the start of something. We needed a game like that."



Derrick Oden

"As you progress through the season, you start trying to stay focused on the task and that's winning ball games. It doesn't matter how pretty or ugly they are, a W is a W."



Sherman Williams

"(Tulane was) when I first did the 'Sherman Shake' and everybody went crazy. Everybody went wild. It was down there in New Orleans, the Big Easy, everything is laissez faire down there. Have a good time. We're having a good time, winning, blowing Tulane off the map. So I decided to go ahead and do the Sherman Shake."

Prince Wimbley

"The Tennessee game was huge, because they were in the Top 15 when we played them. Going on the road, a hostile environment, ABC, prime time TV, that game gave a lot of exposure to us. I think we opened a lot of eyes in the game, and a lot of people started to jump on our bandwagon."

Martin Houston

"People were saying 'yeah Alabama is 6-0, 5-0, but they haven't beat anybody.' And so to go up there and get that win was huge."

Antonio Langham

"I kept trying to avoid the media. So I try to ease around the back way and come in through the side door, just to eat lunch. I'm sitting there eating and somebody from the sports information office says 'they want to talk to you.' So I go back out there and I'm sitting there with all those microphones and everything hit me. The question was kind of posed in a manner like 'well you know, this rivalry has been a good rivalry, but Alabama has been on top for the last however many in a row, so what do you feel about how the series is going?' After hearing that, I said 'well, if you want to look at it that way, I guess you could say in a sense that we own Tennessee.'

Roger Shultz, Alabama center (1986-90), graduate assistant coach (1991-92)

"He sure did, that sucker. Do you believe that? It was so funny when he did it, because everyone was like, 'wait a second, that's Shultz's line.' But obviously, it resonated with him. Thank you Antonio. Appreciate that."

Antonio Langham

"I wasn't like I said it in a cocky manner, like WE OWN TENNESSEE. But boy, when it gets back to Knoxville, it only reads one way, 'Antonio Langham's says we own Tennessee. So by the time we get on the plane Friday and we get to Knoxville, that Saturday morning when we wake up, it's all over the front page of the paper 'Antonio says we own Tennessee.' And they've got quotes from Tennessee players. One player said 'if Antonio Langham thinks they own Tennessee, then he needs to bring the deed to the property because we're taking it back.' And then I got coach Stallings fussing at me about the quote. He said 'well man, ain't much we can do about it, but go play football.' I couldn't wait til Saturday afternoon was over with. I just wanted to win one and get out of there."

Sherman Williams

"On paper, Tennessee looked like they were going to beat us. They looked like a stronger team. They had all the things we didn't have and were a little bit better at every position. But when we got on that field, it was a total different story. We just always stepped up to the challenge."

Bryne Diehl

"At the walkthrough the day before the game, Coach Stallings called everybody up and he said 'OK guys, there's some people watching us. There's no doubt about that.' We just sort of looked around and I don't know if any of my teammates felt the same way, but it was like somebody put a belt around us. We're one now."

Jeremy Nunley

"That was always a big one for me. I graduated from the same high school as Phillip Fulmer. Johnny Majors is from right there too. That was the game I always looked forward to every year. It was always good to beat them, especially being from Tennessee."

Derrick Lassic

"We handled Tennessee. That game was never in question. We dominated. They couldn't stop me. I was just running the ball at will. I remember that game vividly."

Martin Houston

"I think up until that point I had one lost fumble in my career. They actually said on the sideline, 'Hey give it to Martin, let's just run the clock out. He never fumbles.' So I remember it as plain as day. I really don't get tackled on the fumble, per se. I was about to break it, and the guy pulled my arm, I didn't have it tucked tight. I left the ball. It was such a weird feeling, because that had not happened to me in a long time. And when I looked back I was like 'Oh you have to be kidding me.' ... I was doing some serious praying. And a funny part of it is when Chris Donnelly got the interception, I sprint out on the field and hug him and say 'I love you.' He has no idea why I did that."

John Copeland

"I think that's the game where we kind of got our swagger. Up to that point, we had been inching along, inching along, not having much national recognition. But I think that game, especially on the defensive side of the football, that's when we got our swagger. That's when we knew we were pretty good, that we can do this."

Chris Anderson

Those games, they go down in history. People talk about them today. You always want to be on the right side of that. I was fortunate to lose one game to Auburn, and we never lost to Tennessee."

Jay Barker

"The Tennessee game means so much to not only the players and former players but the fans. We got past that and just kept winning."

(Photo courtesy of the Paul W. Bryant Museum)

Part IV: Sugar Bowl stretch run

After outlasting Tennessee to improve to 7-0 in mid-October 1992, Alabama was beginning to be taken seriously as a national championship contender. But the Crimson Tide still had plenty left to prove.

Alabama beat Ole Miss and LSU by double-digits before a tougher-than-expected 30-21 win at Mississippi State. That set up the Iron Bowl on Thanksgiving Day against a struggling Auburn team, which saw head coach Pat Dye announce his resignation on the eve of the Alabama game.



Star cornerback Antonio Langham made the signature play of the Iron Bowl with an interception return for a touchdown, then repeated the feat in the first-ever SEC Championship game against Florida at Legion Field in Birmingham. That victory clinched a berth in the Sugar Bowl against top-ranked Miami, in what proved to be a de facto national championship game.

Just seven weeks prior, however, the Crimson Tide hadn't won much yet:



Eli Gold, Alabama play-by-play broadcaster (1988-present)

"I am not and was not the world's greatest football mind. I would listen to a lot of people I respected. When more and more people, big-time coaches and big-time analysts, started jumping on that bandwagon to some degree, I started thinking 'well this is a pretty good team, but is it that good?' I really didn't know. But clearly it was."



Gene Stallings, Alabama head coach (1990-96)

"We were 8-0 and we were at practice, it was a Monday evening. I got to thinking, if we could win out, we'd have an opportunity to win it. I did not think in terms of winning the national championship until we were 8-0."

George Wilson, Alabama offensive lineman (1988-92)

"Another game in there that I always thought was a big game was Ole Miss. Joe Lee Dunn, their defense, it was like a beehive, a bumblebee. You know they would never stand still. All the guys maybe standing, they would move around. They would shoot the gaps."

Jay Barker, Alabama quarterback (1990-94)

"Against Ole Miss, they were going to come up with crazy blitzes and all kind of stuff, so we went out and threw it. We had a great day. We had a chance to open it up and play like that, the receivers loved it because they were used to blocking downfield. As a quarterback, you love it as well."



Kevin Lee, Alabama wide receiver (1989-93)

"That was one game I caught eight passes. I was like 'wow!' That was a great moment, that game. It started out tight, but once Jay found his rhythm, he was unstoppable. He was on point. Get open, I'm going to hit you. He came into his own. We knew if we had to throw it, we could do it."



Prince Wimbley, Alabama wide receiver (1988-92)

"That also gave us confidence and gave our team confidence, knowing that if we had to go into battle with a shootout team that scored a lot of points, that we can go hold our own as well."



Chris Donnelly, Alabama safety (1992-93)

"I remember being at LSU after the LSU game, and (No. 2) Washington lost. We were going to move up to No. 2 after Miami. For us to be in a position to win the national championship, so many things had to line up. That weekend, a couple of teams lost for the first time, and that moved us into second. Those types of things we knew needed to happen."



Corky Simpson, Arizona Daily Star sports writer

"Every time I would call the Associated Press in New York, these guys would groan and say 'aw, Alabama again?' There were 62 voters, and every week, there'd be Miami at the top and down around eight or 10 there would be Alabama with parentheses (1), and that was my vote. It was that way all year long. Late in the season, someone told Mark Edwards at the Decatur Daily I was voting for Alabama, so he called me and wrote a column about it. Then I started getting calls and letters and that sort of thing, most of them from people who didn't agree with me. It was mostly Miami fans. One guy was going to fax me his rear end. I'm grateful he didn't do that."



Lemanski Hall, Alabama linebacker (1989-93)

"When we played Mississippi State over at their place, that to me was where I knew we've got a chance. We were in a dogfight. It's hard to win in the SEC on the road. Just to see our guys being resilient, leaning on each other - we found a way to win. And that's really the whole season for us."



Kevin Lee

"When we played Mississippi State, and we hopped out to a big lead, and they came back and took the lead going into the fourth quarter, it was time to find out what type of team we had. And we were able to come back and win that game. Mississippi State had a pretty good team that year. We were like 'you know what man, I think we've got an opportunity to do something special here.'"



Willie Gaston, Alabama defensive back (1991-94)

"When they started running their fullback trap and they start moving the ball; it was crazy watching the game unfold. Because you go from being up 20-0 and down 21-20, and everybody is on the sideline looking around going 'what is going on?'"



Derrick Lassic

"Mississippi State was a scare. They always played us tough when I was there. You know how the story goes. They wanted to show the University of Alabama that they were good enough to play with us. They played extra hard against us. And it was at the end of the season most of the time. That was almost like their bowl game."



Mario Morris, Alabama linebacker (1990-93)

"I remember those cowbells going off. It was a tough game. But once we got past that game we were like 'hey we've got a shot here. We've really got a shot at winning it all.'"

John Copeland, Alabama defensive end (1991-92)

"Going into that Auburn game, I think we knew that we really had an opportunity. We knew that we controlled our own destiny."



Charles Hollis, Birmingham News Alabama beat writer (1984-93)

"I remember a circus atmosphere and (Pat Dye's future) was the storyline going into the week. And they had a team sort of in turmoil"



Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"I remember getting a phone call about midnight on (Wednesday) night, because I was going to the game the next day, that Pat Dye was going to resign after the game."



Roger Shultz, Alabama center (1986-90), graduate assistant (1991-92)

"Me being an Alabama guy, I'm thinking, they're trying to motivate their players. They know they can't whip us, some kind of false motivation -- play for Pat Dye, send him out on top. It worked out like it should have worked out. But it shocked everybody."



Jim Fuller, Alabama offensive line coach (1984-96)

"You don't keep something like that just completely shut out. I remember I had heard different things. We were anticipating something, but just the final reality that coach Dye would no longer be the coach at Auburn was a big, big deal."



Gene Stallings

"It sort of surprised me a little bit, for him at that particular time to announce his retirement. You're worried more with what your team does, not what the other team does. So I tried to build my team up, and didn't really worry about Auburn or who was coaching at Auburn. I'm sure I mentioned it, but I did not make a big deal out of it."



Chris Donnelly

"I remember being at the hotel and hearing about it. I remember the coaches and players and everybody saying 'let's not let that be a distraction.'"



Derrick Oden, Alabama linebacker (1988-92)

"With him announcing his retirement, that was huge motivating for his team to send him out on top. But at the same time too, huge motivation for us to send him out on bottom. You want to see a guy succeed, as long as it's not against you. That was one of the hardest-played games of the season."



Kevin Lee

"A lot of guys on the Auburn team were teammates of ours in high school. We wanted to go down with the bragging rights. When coach Dye announced he was retiring, you know the intensity is going to be high. ... And our defense was determined to shut them down anyway. We fought hard. Offense didn't do too much. We only won 17-0."



Eric Curry, Alabama defensive end (1988-92)

"I always had a great game against Auburn. I loved playing against Auburn. I got up for that game. I was really animated and hyped up to go into that game and shut that rivalry talk down."



John Copeland

"We had this play, they called it 'Hound Dog.' And I was the hound dog. When they called 'Hound Dog,' I could line up anywhere I wanted to on the line of scrimmage. So when they called it, they also called a 'defensive line game' with it, which means me and another defensive line could run a stunt or whatever it may be. So I thought, 'yeah, why not me and Eric, let's just do that.' So I lined up on Eric's side, and Eric opened that thing wide open for me. I never got touched. So when I hit Stan, I was going full-speed."



Lemanski Hall

"Stan White didn't have a chance that day. We were all over his butt. Copeland knocked him out. Curry had hits on him. We all had hits on him. It was a long day for him."

Alabama's John Copeland (94) takes down Auburn quarterback Stan White (11) during the 1992 Iron Bowl. (Photo courtesy of the Paul W. Bryant Museum)





Tommy Johnson, Alabama defensive back (1991-94)

"Some of the quickest feet I've ever seen on a defensive back is Antonio Langham. His instincts are second to none. The guy had instincts like a cat."

Eli Gold

"Gene Stallings and other coaches have said, 'you play all 70, 80, 90 plays in the ball game, for the right to play those five or six plays that make the difference. And that was certainly the case with Antonio."



Bill Oliver, Alabama defensive assistant (1990-95)

"When (Langham) was young and getting started. ... I caught him coming off the field and told him, 'you keep going like you're going, you're going to be back up there digging ditches, pouring concrete. You've got a certain amount of ability, and you're not using it. I don't know what's going through your mind.' He'd be the first one to tell you about what I'm talking about. He took it from there. And took it to another level and another level and another level. ... Antonio was so coachable."



Chris Donnelly

"At halftime, it was 0-0. We were playing lights out on defense. Coach Oliver comes into the locker room at halftime. We were kind of sequestered away from the offense, over in our own side room. He came down from the press box, and he said 'guys, I can't ask you to play any better than you're playing right now. You're shutting them out. I can't ask you to play any better, but I'm gonna have to. We are gonna have to make a play to help our offense. Somebody in this room has to make a play, more than just stopping them. We have got to figure out a way to score on defense. We have to get a fumble; we have to get an interception. We have to help our offense or we're not going to win the game.'"



Victor Lockett, Alabama linebacker (1989-93)

"We started looking at ourselves over there, starting to think that we'd done this well all year, and we're not going to get to this point and let these jokers beat us. It was terrible if we did. If you win every other game but then lose to Auburn, that would have been terrible."



Derrick Oden

"At any point in time when the ball left the quarterback's hands, our defense, that's our ball. That was our thing. If it leaves your hand, quarterback, it's our ball. If that ball's in the air, you've got a bunch of hawks. If it wasn't Langham, it was Teague. If it wasn't Teague, it was Donnelly. If it wasn't Donnelly, it was (Tommy Johnson) or Sam or somebody. You had a bunch of ball hawks out there, that just wanted it and when that ball gets in our defense's hands, our defense turns into the offense."



Steve Busky, Alabama tight end (1988-92)

"I didn't sit down a whole lot when the defense was on the field, because you never knew what was going to happen with those playmakers we had on the field."



George Teague, Alabama defensive back (1989-92)

"Langham, I called him the sly fox. He always found a way to come up with the big play when no one was expecting it. I remember him always saying 'Teague, I'm going to make a play. You just watch.' He was a very confident guy. Stan White, Copeland had put him on his back a couple of times. I saw him laying there, and I knew it was just a matter of time before somebody was going to make a big play, we were going to make something happen on defense."



John Copeland

"We knew Langham was going to do something to turn this game around. He had done it so many times before. When I saw him pick the ball off, it was like 'here we go again.'"



Antonio Langham, Alabama cornerback (1990-93)

"I was going to drop to a certain point, in case something came to the flat, I would break on it and make a play. Well, what happens was, (Stan White) checks 'hot' because he thinks we're in man. ... When I see Stan, he went into that motion, I just took off."



Martin Houston, Alabama fullback (1988-92)

"When he jumped that pass, it was obviously going to be a score. And I was at the angle where I was at, I saw him at the break on the ball. And when he broke on it, the only question I had was would he stay in bounds, because he had to do that hop to regain his balance, but once he did I knew that there wasn't anybody from the Auburn side, that was going to be able to catch him. So it was a game breaker."



Antonio Langham

"I ain't lying, I didn't think I'm going to get there to make that play. I thought I'd probably get there to make a tackle. But when I broke on that thing and I went up to try and tip it with one hand, I saw it and I caught it and was like 'oh well, I'm out of here of here now.' (Auburn wide receiver) Orlando Parker had world-class speed. I was worried about him catching me from behind because I didn't know if anybody back there was blocking. I was thinking 'OK, you've got to turn on your jets.'"

Jeremy Nunley, Alabama defensive lineman (1989-93)

"Once we finish the Auburn game and we're going into the SEC championship game against Florida. Going into that one, it felt like it could be something special if you can pull that one out."



John Copeland

"The thing that weighed heavily on everybody's mind, though, was that SEC championship game. It had never happened before. Normally, if we beat Auburn, we're going to the national championship and that's the end of it. But we knew we had to play that game, and we knew what kind of opponent Auburn would be."



Roy Kramer, SEC commissioner (1990-2002)

"When I became commissioner in 1990, the presidents had been discussing (expansion) for a while. ... It was clear from the beginning that two that were particularly interested were South Carolina and Arkansas. The presidents voted unanimously to bring in those two schools that would bring us to the number 12. We were aware all along that by doing that, if we decided to do divisional play, that we could have a Southeastern Conference championship game. That rule was in the books, had been there for a long time, primarily for Division III schools. It had never been utilized by Division I schools."



Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal Constitution

"I loved the idea of playing a game to decide the championship. In 1989, you'd had three teams tied for the championship, and I didn't like that. So to have one game to decide the championship was really, really cool."



Roy Kramer

"Our coaches were pretty well convinced that that was the end of our opportunity to ever have a national championship team. A lot of sportswriters wrote columns to that effect, that this would be the death of the SEC. That very circumstance occurred that first year because Florida had two losses."



Tony Barnhart

"It was an incredible atmosphere, even though it was not a neutral atmosphere by any stretch of the imagination. Just the intensity of the game, the way it set up. When Florida's got the lead, you're thinking 'oh my goodness.' Commissioner Kramer said 'it was a most uncomfortable situation, right until the end."



Gene Stallings

"I was glad that we played the game. I wasn't sure we would have an opportunity to play for the national championship if we did not beat Florida. You always look forward to the game. ... I felt like if we did not play that game, we might not have an opportunity to play for the national championship."



Chris Donnelly

"At the beginning of the season, when I knew they were having a championship, I was like 'hey, that would be fun. It would be great to play in it. It would be awesome.' But when we got to it, we had everything to lose, and nothing to gain. And Florida was just the opposite. The fear was, we could lose this game and really come away with no SEC championship, no shot at the national championship. So there was a lot of pressure on us."



Roger Shultz

"I think everyone was nervous about Florida because that was the last loss they had. And it wasn't just a loss. They beat the crap out of us down there."



Derrick Oden

"We remembered what Florida did to us the year before. When you get whipped like we did down there in 'The Swamp,' it stays with you."



Prince Wimbley

"It was mixed emotions. First off, I was like 'why didn't y'all have this game last year? Now we don't want it. Let's cancel this game.' That's basically it. With that said, we knew it was a lot of pressure on the SEC and a lot of pressure on Alabama. Florida didn't have any pressure on them. ... If we lost that game, we're out of the national championship game."



Roy Kramer

"As the commissioner, you have to remain neutral, and if (Alabama were to lose), well that's what happened. Our coaches would have really been waving the flag, so to speak. But as it turned out, it did not happen."



Matt Hammond, Alabama offensive lineman (1989-93)

"For us, it was certainly an opportunity at redemption. They'd embarrassed us badly the year before. We're ranked No. 2 at that point. You're thinking 'crap, if we're ranked No. 2 in any other season, we'd be going into the bowl right now.' It was an opportunity for us to redeem ourselves against Florida. And we had a chance to be a part of history with the inaugural game."



Steve Busky

"If we lose were out of the national championship. But man a lot of us wanted redemption from that butt-whippin' they gave us. A lot of guys in that locker room wanted redemption."



Chris Anderson, Alabama running back (1990-93)

"We were frustrated. The year before, we didn't have that. We were like 'why are you doing this to us now?' We didn't have to do it last year, because you went straight to the Sugar Bowl and didn't have to play another game."



George Teague

"Coach Spurrier, the wide receiver crew that they had, that high-powered offense they had, it was depressing that we were going to have to go do it one more time. I wasn't the happiest of guys, and I don't think our team was happy that we were going to have to go do it one more time to try to get to the Big Dance."

Lemanski Hall

"Obviously you want to get them get them back because embarrassed us down at their place. But the other thing was, 'why are we playing this game?' We've got an undefeated record, we should just get right to the national championship game. But what an opportunity. To say we were the first team to play in the SEC title game. And looking back on it now, we were the first. But at the time, that wasn't a conversation."



Matt Hammond

"Looking back on it, I wouldn't have traded it. I guess winning it helps with that memory."



Antonio London, Alabama linebacker (1989-92)

"I don't know if I had blinders on, but it didn't bother me. I felt like 'OK, this is another game we have to play, to get to where we want to be. ... My thing was 'if you want to be the champion, we've got one more game to play. No big deal. It's on the schedule. There's nothing you can do about it. Let's go to work.'"



Sherman Williams, Alabama running back (1991-94)

"It was too cold to being playing football outside."



Joey McLeod, Alabama student trainer (1990-94)

"I wore shorts. It was superstition. I had worn shorts all year and we had won all year, so I had to wear them again. ... You've got to do what you've got to do. You can't change the routine."



Antonio London

"I remember thinking 'let's wrap this thing up, so we can get out of this freaking cold.'"



Derrick Lassic

"I tell everybody, my mom is from North Carolina, my dad is from Alabama. I was raised in New York, but I have Southern blood. I didn't like that cold weather. It was freezing. Every time you got hit, it hurt. The ball was hard as a rock. You landed on that turf, it was like landing on concrete. I remember one time, pretty early in the game, I fell on the ball and I thought I cracked a rib."



Prince Wimbley

"Our hands felt like bricks. The ground felt like concrete. But with that said, the adrenaline that we have going, knowing if we get through this game that we're gonna play for a national championship out-trumps everything."



Sam Shade, Alabama defensive back (1991-94)

"I think we were a little bit tight going into the game, because technically we had won the SEC regular season. The year before if we had done that, we would have just gone on and played somebody for the national championship in a bowl game. So I think we were a little bit tight because we knew what we had riding on the line. I think Florida was a little bit looser and I think they played that way."



Curtis Brown, Alabama wide receiver (1991-95)

"I scored a touchdown in that game. I remember the particular play when Jay called it, I just surveyed the field and already knew what was going to happen. Jay threw a perfect pass, and it landed right in my hands. It was a great feeling. It was the first SEC championship game, and it was a phenomenal feeling."

Martin Houston

"We knew we were better than them at that point. And we jumped out on him and we proved it. But if you score so many points with Coach Stallings, he's going to call the dogs off. If you score 17 points with coach Stallings, he didn't think anybody could score that much on our defense. We just kind of went in the tank offensively after we got up. But what we didn't account for is the fact that they were going to find something that worked on our defense. And you can't just turn it back on when you're playing against equal talent. We couldn't just turn it back on offensively."

Bill Oliver

"A lot of times, teams don't have but one or two good receivers. Florida had a good quarterback and they had five or six good receivers. ... Building up toward the championship game, Miami was a cakewalk compared to getting ready to play Florida. I'm serious about that."

Tommy Johnson

"We were always one of the top defenses in the country, and Florida was always one of the top offenses in the country. At that time, Florida was scoring upwards of 40 points a game on everybody they played. We were one of the few defenses that could hold them under 30 points."

Kevin Lee

"We knew that Fun and Gun offense was going to show up sooner or later. And all of a sudden they start reeling it back in and it's tied in the fourth quarter."

Eric Curry

"That was not my best game, not even close. I kept trying to pass-rush, get up the field, and they kept running that little shovel pass between the guard and the tackle with Errict Rhett."

John Copeland

"That shovel pass worked because of Eric's aggression, and Steve Spurrier knew that. When Eric came off the line, and he got a pass set from the lineman, he was gone. And they used that against him most of the day."

Derrick Oden

"The play where Langham picked off the pass out in the flat, I really thought they were going to go to the shovel pass. They were trying to kill you with that, lull you with that in the middle and then bring those quick slants. And Langham, based off the field position and the pressure we were getting on the quarterback, stepped up at the right time."

Roosevelt Patterson, Alabama offensive lineman (1989-93)

"We just moved the ball, pounding, pounding, pounding. They had a great offense, especially passing the ball. (Florida quarterback) Shane Matthews just made the mistake of throwing it to the wrong side where Antonio Langham was."

Bryne Diehl, Alabama punter (1991-94)

"Next thing you know, Langham's got one in the end zone."





Antonio Langham

"We had just come out of a timeout, and we were coming back on the field. ... I'm talking to Copeland and Curry during the timeout and I'm like 'listen, Shane is good, but if they start throwing the ball on us, if ya'll can put pressure on him, he might just throw one out there. He's going to throw one at some point, if we can just put some pressure on him and force it."



Kevin Lee

"We're all trying to be coaches on the sidelines. Watch out for this, watch out for that! When he just bit on him and stepped in front, I raised my hand and said 'that's it. He got it. Boom!'"



Roger Shultz

"It's like if you're watching a baseball game and they get one run up and you've got a pitcher that's dealing. A one-run lead is like 10 runs. That's how it felt when Antonio scored. It was over."



George Wilson

"That just happened, and it was just AHHHHH. Everybody just at one time, super relief and happy."



Bryne Diehl

"I was trying to get warm. Shane throws it, and next thing you know, Langham makes a great break on it. And then, boom, boom. It's touchdown city. Unbelievable."



Jim Fuller

"That warmed it up."



Chris Donnelly

"We had worked on it all week, when the inside receiver runs a corner route, (Langham's) supposed to take it, help me on the corner route and then break up and make the tackle on the hitch. That's how we had done it in practice, because we don't want to give up a 17-yard gain when we can give up a 4-yard gain. ... Then all of a sudden, during that play, the ball is snapped and Langham doesn't move. He squats. Doesn't move. He just kind of squatted down and obviously, Shane never saw him. He had been so programmed that we were going to take away that corner route, that he just thought 'there's no way the corner route's open, I'm just gonna continue what they're giving me.' But Langham squats. I give him a hard time because he squatted. He didn't even move. Granted, when he intercepted it, he ran it in."



Antonio Langham

"I'm sure Donnelly will call me a squatter. Any time he's on the radio with Jay (Barker), every time this play comes up, he always says the same thing. 'I don't know why everybody gives Antonio so much credit -- he's nothing but a squatter.' We laugh about it. He calls me a squatter, which he's right on this play. I squatted on this one. I hung him out to dry bad. Usually, the key behind Cover 2 is to give a little ground and force the underneath route and then the safety makes the tackle and you line back up. Well, this particular time, I'm thinking 'I've been giving him help all day, but what if I just squat right and hope he throws it to me.' And that's what happened. I did, I squatted hard on that one. ... The way I was set up, I was right in behind the receiver. And he let it go. Most breaks come across (in front of the receiver), but I came from behind the receiver and then intercepted the ball. It was a play that was needed at that point in time."



Tony Barnhart

"To me, like everybody, it looked like Langham kind of dropped, and sat on the route. Now, I have since found out, coach Spurrier had seen the (SEC Network) documentary of the game where I among many others explained what had happened. What I said was that Shane regretted the fact that he didn't look off the safety more and leave more room. Coach Spurrier called me and said 'now Tony, that's not exactly what happened. Here's what happened.' And he verbally diagrammed it for me 25 years later. One of the Florida receivers -- one of the other guys, not the one the ball was going to -- had not gone deep enough in his route, which gave Langham the opportunity to pick the ball off. Shane Matthews fell on the sword for his team, but it wasn't all Shane's fault."



Sam Shade

"I was actually in coverage on the other side of the field and all I remember seeing was ... I heard the crowd and then I looked and saw him kind of running toward the end zone. I saw John Copeland get a huge block on one of the Florida receivers. He got a huge block and it was kind of history. I was like 'wow, Antonio, he just saved the day.'"



John Copeland

"I was getting double-teamed, so when I looked up and saw the ball thrown, I followed the ball. And Langham was on my side. When I saw him catch the ball, I thought the receiver was going to make the tackle. So I just sprinted to that guy. I knew if I blocked him, nobody was going to catch (Langham). And I was able to get there."



Jeremy Nunley

"Everybody laughs whenever it comes on, because the best tackle I never made was on Langham. I had to do the 'ole' bullfight maneuver to get out of his way. He was running in for the touchdown and I had to get out of his way. Everybody gets a kick out of that."



Antonio