Why Alabama felt confident running screen play with 366-pound Kadyn Proctor vs. Georgia

Alabama football’s 6-foot-7, 366-pound left tackle Kadyn Proctor split out wide and caught a pass for an 11-yard gain before stepping out of bounds near the goal line against Georgia in a Crimson Tide win.

It was a play the Crimson Tide had stuffed away from the right moment, and Kalen DeBoer felt the right time started to show itself during practice last week.

“That went in during fall camp,” DeBoer said. “It was going really well, then we had one that didn’t go well. And so, it got shelfed for a little bit but brought it back out. He made a catch earlier in the week that gave us a lot of confidence. Middle of practice, sweaty hands, not a great throw, pulled it right off the ground, so pretty impressive seeing a big guy like that do what he did, and he’s been pretty consistent on it. He’s done his part. Our guys are excited for him, and you know, who wants to tackle that guy, right? Who wants to tackle him? He’s such a great athlete, and he’s worked hard to continue to improve that in other ways.”

According to Alabama quarterback, Ty Simpson, Proctor was telling him throughout the week that if he was thrown a good ball, he would turn it up field for a big play.

“We’ve been prepping it all week,” Simpson said. “He worked really hard to get his weight down, and he told me ‘If you give me a good ball, I’ll go score.’ I was like, ‘You don’t worry about my ball. You worry about catching it.’ So, when he got out there, in the huddle I was like, “You ready big guy?’ And he was like ‘Yeah.’ So, we motioned him out there and then, we gave him a ball, and he should have scored. But I was super proud of have of him honestly.”

It is not the first time Proctor has created a viral moment against Georgia. Last year, Proctor was able to block two Georgia defenders while pass protecting, showcasing the strength and athleticism of the left tackle.

Although the play was amazing moment for him, Proctor will walk away from it with one regret.

“Got to finish with a touchdown,” Proctor said. “That’s what’s running through my mind.”

Alabama was able to put points on the board on that drive, so the drive was successful despite him not scoring a touchdown.

Proctor got to live the dream of most offensive lineman and catch a pass. However, it was ruled as a pass behind the line of scrimmage, so it reads as an 11-yard rush for Proctor. Either way, it is a memory that will exist in Alabama football history for a long time.