The play has been replayed time and time again since November.
Mark Barron, doesn’t think about it, though. The soft-spoken Alabama safety appeared to have a bead on the Cam Newton pass during the second half’s second play in the 2010 Iron Bowl. The video shows he just had to reach up and knock it down, and Auburn’s Terrell Zachery wouldn’t have hauled in the deep pass and run another 36 yards for a turning-point touchdown.
But Barron couldn’t move his arm. He had torn his pectoral muscle that afternoon. Movement was painful, if not impossible. Now, he is second-guessed staying in the game, which ended in a 28-27 defeat, but he is positive about one thing:
“I’m 100 percent sure it wouldn’t have been a touchdown,” the first-team All-American said. “I don’t know exactly what would have happened -- interception, tackle -- but it wouldn’t have been a touchdown.”
A lot changed for Barron after that overcastin Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The mental side of moving past the blown 24-point lead was the easy part. Surgery came soon after, and the Capital One Bowl was completely out of the question. For a month, his arm was strapped to his side. Any hope of working out for NFL teams was gone.
There wasn’t much of a choice to return for his senior season, despite mentions of a possible first-round NFL draft selection. If he didn’t tear the muscle in his chest, would he have taken the leap and left Alabama?
“I couldn’t tell you,” Barron said. “Probably so.”
Now that he is back for a senior season, Barron said the injury is completely healed.
It’s back to full contact after wearing the black jersey during spring practices. It wasn’t easy for Barron to refrain from hitting, given his hunger for physical play. The team leader with 75 tackles last season even prefers cracking pads to the big interception.
Again, Barron will be the veteran member of a secondary that now has more experience surrounding him.
A year ago, he was the only defensive back with serious game experience. It was up to Barron to do most of the on-field training of the youthful talent. The Mobile native isn’t much for gab, though. He is famously reserved.
So he led in other ways.
“Even though he’s one of those guys who doesn’t say much, when he does say something, he’s probably one of the most respected guys on our team,” coach Nick Saban said.
“And I think he has a presence about him that is felt by the players around him all the time. And I think it’s important that you have those personality types on your team.”
Barron doesn’t shy away from verbal communication completely. Picking and choosing the right time and place is more important than constant chatter.
“If I feel like it’s something that needs to be said, I’m going to say it,” Barron said. “I might not yell it out. I might go up to a person and talk to them face to face instead of just yelling across the field.
Robert Lester, Alabama’s other top safety who is also quiet for a defensive back, said words aren’t necessary on the field sometimes. He said a simple look at a teammate on the field can relay a formation or coverage with a teammate as a result of the unit’s cohesion.
Looking back on the past season -- particularly its final act -- isn’t a big part of the daily routine for Barron.
His chest healed fully, and a senior season in Tuscaloosa is just weeks away.
When pressed, though, Barron sees what could have been.
That touchdown pass that helped swing the Iron Bowl will remain a part of the rivalry’s history.
“It was very frustrating,” Barron said. “I felt like there was some things I might have been able to do for my team that I wasn’t able to do, simply because of that. I felt like I wasn’t sure I made the right decision by staying in the game. It was frustrating. I thought about it, but I try to leave it in the past.”
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