The Auburn Tigers dropped the 2023 Iron Bowl in a 27-24 decision that came down to Alabama scoring on a fourth-and-31.
The emotions ran high after the game and players shared their thoughts on how they were feeling from the dramatic loss.
Defensive back Jaylin Simpson was asked about the atmosphere in the locker room. He said, “It’s a lot of heads down and a few of our leaders trying to keep everyone’s head up. That’s also what I was trying to do.”
Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne was asked about the emotions at the end of the game, “I’ve never been part of something like that. That was so close and just slipped away. I’m still kind of in shock. I don’t really know if that’s the word I would use to describe it for me.”
Auburn linebacker Eugene Asante discussed the tough loss. He said, "Truthfully, I am grateful that the team fought and laid it on the line. Everyone showed up and did their one-eleven (workout). That is something we preached going into the game doing the one-eleven and everybody came out there and wanted to put in their best effort. I am just proud of the team and the way they performed. Just got to prepare next week for the bowl game."
Auburn running back Damari Alston shared his perspective of the emotions after the game. He said, “It hurts. We let one slip away and it is going to sting us for 364 days. It hurts, but we all came together as a team. Jaylin [Simpson] brought us together, told us that we are a team, so we have to break it down as a team. I think this year we formed a real brotherhood. There’s been a lot of ups and downs, a bumpy road. We’ve been through a lot of adversity that made us stronger and made us come together, so we have to keep going. We have a bowl game coming up, so we’ve got to execute that.”
Auburn linebacker Jalen McLeod shared a similar sentiment when he was asked about his emotions after the loss. He said, “We played our hearts out. You can tell that. And when you play your hearts out, it’s the worst feeling. The closest games are the worst games, and we lost, and it means so much. I’m a transfer and I know what it means. When you play your hearts out and you lose like that, in that type of fashion, it’s the worst. There was a lot of emotion going through everybody.”
Auburn star running back Jarquez Hunter said, “It was hard for everybody. One play can change a game, and you have to fight until the end. It is hard on everybody, especially the players on defense.”
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