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The Tuscaloosa News
Dijon Lee interception was an answered prayer for Alabama football QB Ty Simpson
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- Dijon Lee interception was an answered prayer for Alabama football QB Ty Simpson
COLUMBIA, MO. — All Ty Simpson could do was watch.
The Alabama football quarterback had just led the Crimson Tide on a three-and-out inside the final two minutes against Missouri . The Alabama offense ended the drive where it began as punter Blake Doud took the field, flipping possession and giving the Tigers the ball at their own 18-yard line with 77 seconds left trailing by three points.
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Simpson didn't hide it. He started to pray, repeating the message that "whatever happens, happens."
"It's all up to God," Simpson said.
A 25-yard deep ball from Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula to wide receiver Donovan Olugbode ignited the Tigers offense for a moment. Three plays later, a Pribula deep ball landed in the hands of Crimson Tide freshman cornerback Dijon Lee for his first collegiate interception and securing Alabama's 27-24 win at Missouri .
Kalen DeBoer , for one, isn't surprised Lee was thrust into the spotlight. The Alabama coach remembers spring ball when the 6-foot-4 freshman cornerback first emerged and made a push into the Crimson Tide's cornerback rotation immediately. Lee's a playmaker, DeBoer said. Lee is hard to throw around and he tackles well.
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But, more importantly, he has something not every Alabama freshman has.
"We trust him," DeBoer said.
Simpson trusted him, just like he trusts the rest of the Alabama defense. The Crimson Tide quarterback has "a ton of confidence" in the unit as a whole, a unit that came up big against the Tigers.
"They bailed us out a lot, man," Simpson said. "Dijon Lee came up big. Bray Hubbard came up big. Two turnovers. But we got to help them out."
Alabama will take on Tennessee at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Oct. 18 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Dijon Lee interception was an answered prayer for Alabama QB Ty Simpson
