Bradyn Swinson just decided to make a play.
LSU's defense was facing a critical fourth and 1 at its own four yard line in the first quarter last Saturday against Ole Miss. The Rebels rushed up to the line of scrimmage after running back Henry Parrish was stopped a yard short of a first down on third and 6.
Because of the hurry up, Swinson didn't know what play call was relayed into the defense.
"I looked into the sideline and we didn't have a call in yet, but I saw everybody down," Swinson said. "... You've probably got to ask Whit or somebody."
But Swinson did see Ole Miss line up wide receiver Jordan Watkins across from him at the line of scrimmage. Swinson has five inches and 50 pounds on Watkins; he may have not known the defensive play call, but Swinson knew that it was time to pounce.
"I saw a little receiver that they thought was going to block me," Swinson said. "And then I was like, 'Yeah, I'm just gonna shoot the gap.' "
Swinson shot the gap and stopped Parrish in his tracks, forcing the turnover on downs. The play was a crucial moment early in the game, and made a big difference in LSU eventually taking down Ole Miss 29-26 in overtime.
Swinson was the catalyst in making the stop, but he made sure to give credit to his teammates for doing their part in forcing the turnover on downs.
"Gio (Paez) had a great push initially up the middle. He pushed the center back so the center couldn't move," Swinson said. "I just shot it. I made the tackle in the backfield (but) you see Sai'vion (Jones) come over, and he blocks it off, just so they couldn't even go forward. So that's just a whole bunch of just team ball coming together right there."
Coach Brian Kelly said during his weekly teleconference on Wednesday that there was a play call relayed to the defense ahead of the fourth and 1 stop. He added that Swinson, in particular, "doesn't get many of the calls right."
"He's a pretty darn good player, but we sometimes have to worry about whether he gets the right play call," Kelly said.
But Swinson displayed the right instincts on the play, Kelly said. Since Ole Miss didn't change any personnel, Swinson knew what his gap assignment was and where he needed to line up on the line of scrimmage.
"There's a chance that the edge player, and in this instance, the defensive end may not get the exact call," Kelly said. "... The formation would dictate what his alignment and assignment is. But there are times where you just got to get your cleats in the ground and play smart football and he did."