During my time playing for the Appalachian State University Mountaineers, I primarily played defensive end. I was particularly good at dropping back into coverage, and as a result was tasked to do this relatively often depending on the team we would be facing. This time around, it was against our rival, the Marshall Thundering Herd. At the beginning of the 4th quarter, we were down by 3, and our offense was driving down the field slowly, churning out the clock with a genius reliance on their young defensive core. As the offensive pounded the rock, Marshall’s defense began to hit harder and harder until, when the clock hit 1:00 in enemy territory, the running back fumbled the ball and we went on to the field to try and win it for our guys. Steadily moving down the field attempting to get the 1st down dagger, Marshall’s run game seemed like an automatic 4 yards per carry. But after our final timeout after forcing 4th down, Marshall did the unthinkable: they called a play-action play. I dropped back, reading the quarterback’s eyes and covering the flat, and as the quarterback threw to the checkdown in my zone, I leaped and intercepted the pass, shaking off the running back’s futile tackle attempt as I scored a 35-yard walk-off pick-6 as time expired. This solidified me as a real threat and a versatile, positionless player on the Mountaineer defense.
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