Luke Leatherman, a freshman aviation management student at Auburn, had just returned to his room from the university’s student center when the notification came across his phone.

A YouTuber he follows on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, penned a post saying “An era is ending.”

“I looked and I see Saban’s retiring and I just screamed in my room and said, ‘What happened?’,” Leatherman said. “The bad man is gone. Finally, after 17 long years, we can finally be rid of him.”

For Leatherman, Wednesday’s news of Saban’s retirement felt like a win on all accounts.

“I’ve waited almost as long as I’ve been alive for this moment,” Leatherman said as he stood beneath the rolled oak trees on Toomer’s Corner, roll of toilet paper in hand.

For Leatherman, a lifelong Auburn fan, Saban has been at the root of plenty of heartaches in late November.

At the same time, Leatherman understands he’s watched history unfold.

“I must say… I don’t want to say I hate him. I have a lot respect for him,” Leatherman said. “He’s done a lot for the game of college football. He’s proven he’s one of, if not the greatest, college football coaches of all time. I just wish it was for a different school.”

The feeling of wishing Saban coached at a different school might’ve come at an all-time high for Leatherman this past November as the Crimson Tide beat the Tigers on a last-second touchdown on 4th-and-31 to come from behind and win the game.

“Fortunately and unfortunately, yes,” Leatherman said when asked if he was at Jordan-Hare Stadium for this past Iron Bowl, adding that it was the fourth Alabama-Auburn game he’d been able to attend in person.

However, unlike many of his peers at Auburn, Leatherman has had the luxury of witnessing Auburn knock off Saban and the Crimson Tide twice. Both times, Leatherman rushed the field with Tigers’ fans.

“I really do wish it for my friends,” Leatherman said. “Or especially a lot of the freshmen that have come over. That was their first Iron Bowl. For them and what could’ve been, it was an amazing Iron Bowl experience. But what could’ve been the best day of their lives… it turned into that.”

But in true Auburn fan-fashion, Leatherman managed to find a silver lining in November’s narrow defeat.

“Hey, in hindsight, when you look at it, all it did was it prevented Georgia from going on a three-peat,” Leatherman joked.

After learning of Wednesday’s news, Leatherman immediately texted a group of his classmates from one of his aviation classes and asked they come to Toomer’s Corner and bring toilet paper.

Leatherman extended the invite on Auburn’s university-wide Snapchat story.

“This is a time to celebrate,” Leatherman said. “This is a win — not just for Auburn, but for college football in general.”

And how do Auburn fans celebrate wins? By chucking toilet paper at the oak trees on the corner of College Street and Magnolia Avenue.

“So War Damn Eagle,” Leatherman said as he cocked back his right arm, which was armed with a roll of toilet paper.

“And Bama, we’ll see you next year,” he added as he let another piece of toilet paper fly.