A turnover for the offense is awful in pretty much every aspect. Your team gave up possession, and the other team has a chance to score, which puts more pressure on your defense.
One of the few bright spots of a turnover as an offensive player is you get to tackle. For the first time in a long time, you're allowed to be on the giving end of laying the boom.
Alabama wide receiver John Metchie III relished this opportunity in the 2020 SEC Championship Game against the Florida Gators.
John Metchie III's Monster Hit vs. Florida
This was hands down one of the biggest hits last season ??
The last time @AlabamaFTBL and Florida went head-to-head John Metchie III laid the BOOM ? pic.twitter.com/Et4ndrDWio
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 16, 2021
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In a rarity for the Alabama Crimson Tide, the game was still close with six-and-a-half minutes left in the first quarter. Knotted at seven points apiece, Bama quarterback Mac Jones dropped back to pass. He fired slightly behind tight end Miller Forristall, who had the ball wrested away by Florida safety Trey Dean II.
Dean looked for room to run and cut to the left sideline. Metchie came flying from the bottom of the screen and laid the wood, decimating, hitsticking Dean with the force of a semi. Dean didn't see Metchie steamrolling towards him, and as he got rocked, the ball came loose, and Alabama wideout DeVonta Smith jumped on it.
Add a forced fumble to Metchie's stat line and boost his tackling up to 99 in the next NCAA Football video game.
Jones described Metchie's hustle as an embodiment of his team's mentality:
"That was awesome," Jones said. "I threw the ball. I got my feet all whacked up, so I was late. And then everyone wants to blame it on Miller [Forristall] and stuff like that, but that's not true. If you watch the tape, I threw it behind him, so Trey Dean, the safety, picked it off. And then it just goes to show Metchie — I don't know if he was angry or what — but I just love how he came in there and made a play, and he created a turnover off a turnover. It's kind of like a weird sequence of events, and we ended up showing. But it just goes to show that Metchie, he's an effort guy and even when he doesn't get the ball, he's gonna try and make plays like that.
"People don't even realize the small things. We've done that several times this year. There's Najee on an interception where he ran back and tackled a guy. Or even like Jase McClellan when he went back in Arkansas and tackled a guy.
"Effort plays like that just shows what type of players we have on our team."
The play also went viral on social media, even inspiring memes.
Days Later, Alabama WR John Metchie III's Hit On Florida's Trey Dean Still Making Waveshttps://t.co/Ci2hgtOKvO pic.twitter.com/9oK6tljstU
— BamaCentral (@BamaCentral) December 22, 2020
Trey Dean and John Metchie pic.twitter.com/v0jnh57UXK
— Clint Lamb (@ClintRLamb) December 20, 2020
Nick Saban's squad eventually found its groove and pulled out a 52-46 win. Of course, they went on to win the national championship over Ohio State.
As for Metchie, if Saban ever needs an extra hard-hitting guy in his secondary, he has a man ready to go.
