âWhere were you during the Kick Six?â: Auburnâs players remember the iconic play
Auburn tight end Luke Deal arrived to The Plains in January of 2019.
In April of 2022, Deal got married.
Deal was picked to represent Auburn at SEC Media Days this year and went on to be named a team captain for the 2023 season in August.
All of this is said to make one point: Deal is about as seasoned of an Auburn football player as they come.
And sometimes, Deal’s teammates like to remind him of that.
“I’m showing my age a little bit, but one of my tight ends actually asked me if I was here at Auburn for the Kick Six,” Deal joked Monday.
Deal’s teammate wasn’t asking if he was simply in Jordan-Hare Stadium. No, the question was whether or not Deal was playing in the game that November afternoon.
“No, I was watching it on TV just like you,” Deal said, echoing what he told his teammate.
That was nearly a decade ago, but still to this day, Deal gets chills watching the replay.
“Every time I heard it replayed over and over again, I just get chills,” Deal said. “Whether its’ in the stadium, just on my phone, on a little Instagram Reel or whether somebody’s just talking about it, I just get chills.”
Deal can’t believe it’s been 10 years.
And that’s probably something we’ve all found ourselves thinking as we’ve learned that Auburn’s Chris Davis returned Alabama’s Adam Griffith’s missed field goal a decade ago.
And not to age everyone, but that means some of Auburn’s youngest football players were only 8 or 9 years old.
So where were they? When was the first time they saw Davis sprint down the Tigers’ sideline in Jordan-Hare Stadium that night?
Here’s what a handful of Auburn’s players remember about the iconic play:
Junior quarterback Payton Thorne: “I don’t remember exactly where I was but I remember seeing it and I remember the call. Obviously, it’s a legendary call. It’s a legendary play in college football history, let alone Auburn history. I do remember it. I remember thinking, ‘Holy Cow, I can’t believe that just happened.’ Obviously, that sticks with you. You see that, you’re not going to forget it.”
Junior defensive back Keionte Scott: “I remember seeing a crazy video and feeling the energy through the phone. It was a moment I was like, I could only imagine people in person and being in that moment, how they were feeling. Being able to see it even now, you see videos get brought up again, you just feel the energy coming through the phone of the stadium. That video is always good to see.”
Bonus: Keionte Scott came into Monday’s media availability wearing a festive, Kick Six sweater. Check it out:
Senior offensive lineman Kam Stutts: “Definitely the Kick Six. I wasn’t an Auburn fan growing up, but that’s definitely the biggest memory I have of the Iron Bowl. Seeing that was crazy. I was at home, watching it on TV. I don’t remember exactly what we were doing. But I remember seeing it on TV and being, like, ‘Dang.’ We had one of those giant box TVs. That’s what I remember. Just watching all of that, it was crazy.”
Senior offensive lineman Gunner Britton: “I don’t remember where I was, but I remember watching it. They threw a little out route and there was a big thing on if there was a second on the clock or not. Then I remember watching them kick it. I watched it live at home or somebody’s house watching it. I remember them throwing the out route on the left sideline and then there being — they went to a review to see if there was any time left or something. Watching him kick and watching him run it back 109 yards was pretty cool.”