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HaHa Clinton-Dix makes a textbook open-field tackle on Laquon Treadwell on Saturday.

(Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama — From his spot deep in the Alabama secondary, HaHa Clinton-Dix saw the play develop.

On a dead sprint, he lined up Ole Miss receiver Laquon Treadwell. This was a huge moment early in Alabama's game with No. 21 Ole Miss. The Rebels gambled on fourth-and-2 just inside the Alabama 30.

"That's something that we emphasize," Saban said. "We try to get our players to keep their feet inside their shoulders so they can open their hips and adjust. But he just made a good play and a good hit and it ended up being a huge play in the game on fourth down."

The athleticism of that play brought back memories of a former Alabama safety who was taken with the seventh pick of the 2011 NFL draft.

"Coming down 17 yards away from the line of scrimmage, fourth-and-1, stopping them on a jet sweep on the outside is unbelievable," Sunseri said. "We were joking around after the game, and it truly is, it was a Mark Barron play. And it was a Mark Barron-type of performance from HaHa in the game."

Of course open-field tackling has changed over the years. The institution of the targeting rule and the new penalties including ejection can make some players hesitate in the moment before impact.

Not everyone, though.

"No sir. I go 110 miles per hour every single play," Tide linebacker Denzel Devall said. "Whenever the ball's in the air I just try to go attack it. If I hit somebody I'm going to try and make sure it's within the rules. That's what we're trying to do."

Both Clinton-Dix and freshman cornerback Eddie Jackson have been flagged for the helmet-to-helmet contact this season, but both ejections were overturned after video review.