With 'Gravedigger,' Isaiah Bond and Alabama deliver fourth-and-31 miracle that will live on forever in Iron Bowl lore

AUBURN, Ala. — Isaiah Bond sort of looks like a superhero.

Here stands the Alabama sophomore receiver, from beneath Jordan-Hare Stadium, a spotlight shining on him and reporters gathered around. He has partially unzipped a gray jacket to expose his chiseled bare chest and three glittering digits beneath — a diamond-studded necklace spelling out his nickname: 007.

It’s almost as if Bond is soon to leap into the skies like Clark Kent himself, ripping free of his exterior clothing to save some helpless victim. He’d prefer, of course, to do his work a bit more professionally, emulating the sharply dressed character that so many famous actors have played over decades: Double-Oh-Seven.

Meet a new Mr. Bond, Iron Bowl hero.

It was him, Bond, on the receiving end of one of the most improbable plays in college football history. He will forever be remembered as the wideout who caught quarterback Jalen Milroe’s game-winning touchdown pass on fourth-and-31 — yes, fourth-and-31 — in the final seconds to beat rival Auburn, 27-24, and keep alive the Crimson Tide’s playoff hopes.

In a play that Alabama coaches dubbed “Gravedigger,” Milroe danced around for six seconds before tossing his pass into the corner of the end zone for a leaping Bond, who corralled the catch against Auburn cornerback D.J. James, got two feet in bounds and then unfurled a celebration move in which he impersonated the famous image of James Bond, clasping his hands together to form an imaginary gun and thrusting his head upwards.

He's staking claim as the originator of the move in a football game.

"I want everybody to know I did it first,” he said.

If all of this sounds too unbelievable to be true, too wild to ever happen in real life, if it feels like the script for some far-flung Hollywood drama, it is understandable. But it did happen.

On this Saturday in a rocking Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn clung to a four-point lead with 43 seconds left on the clock when the Crimson Tide ran “Gravedigger” on fourth-and-goal from the 31. Five receivers bolted from the line of scrimmage into the end zone, Milroe hopped around an unblemished pocket (Auburn only rushed two linemen) and Bond, running a seam route deep into the far corner of the end zone, somehow came free.

As the ball came whistling down toward him, one thought flashed through Bond’s head: “It’s mine,” he said. “That’s what I thought.”

And just like that, in a split second, one play, one great catch, wiped away such a stunning performance from an Auburn team that entered 6-5 having lost last week to New Mexico State. Head coach Hugh Freeze and the Tigers put on a brilliant display of misdirection rushing that would make Gus Malzahn proud. They gouged the Tide for 244 yards on the ground, played a bend-but-don’t-break defense and held leads of 14-10 in the second quarter, 21-20 in the third and 24-20 before Gravedigger buried them.

That is, after all, why it is called Gravedigger, says Bond, because it is designed to “put them in the grave.”

“We put them asleep,” he said.

While it buried Auburn, Gravedigger kept alive Alabama. The No. 8 Tide (11-1) meet Georgia next weekend in the SEC championship game where a win most likely sends them into the postseason. Despite all of the struggles — the double-digit home loss to Texas, the escape from South Florida, the egg laid here Saturday — Nick Saban’s group is quite alive and well.

He called Saturday a “reality check” for this group — a message he delivered to them afterward in the locker room.

“I’m proud of this group to come from where we were early in the season to win 11 games,” he said.

Without Gravedigger, it doesn’t happen.

“Believe it or not,” Saban said, “we practice that play every Friday.”

He paused. “But I must admit that you need a little luck.”

Luck? The Iron Bowl? You don’t say.

Gravedigger happened to take place on the 10th anniversary of what is the most famous play in Iron Bowl lore.

Auburn has the Kick Six.

Alabama, now, has Gravedigger.

“It’s all about trust,” Milroe said afterward. “It’s about never giving up. That was the biggest thing throughout the game and with that play — all about trust.”

If you need another twist, Bond says he’s never ran that specific route — a seam — during that play in practice. It usually goes to another receiver. In the seam route, Bond raced down the field on the hashmarks, turned back toward his quarterback and then shifted underneath the ball.

He leaned into cornerback James and then faded toward the sideline late to position himself for the catch.

Milroe spotted Bond one-on-one. As soon as he saw that, “I knew it was good,” the quarterback said.

“I felt the sideline,” Bond said. “I knew it was a TD.”

His feet came tumbling to the turf, one and then the other, and the official threw up his hands to signal the score. The receiver erupted from the turf, twisted his head upward and clasped his hands to form that imaginary pose — a celebration, catch and, of course, name that will go down in Iron Bowl lore.

Bond.

Isaiah Bond.