Caddell comes up big in the clutch

SHREVEPORT, La. | Matt Caddell made Independence Stadium his own personal playground for a span of about 3 minutes Sunday night.

Starting late in the first quarter and going into the early part of the second, the University of Alabama’s senior wide receiver from McCalla caught a touchdown pass, blocked a punt, ran for a first down on a reverse and turned a short screen pass into a long gain into Colorado territory to set up another score. In the process, Caddell helped the Crimson Tide to a 27-point lead that set the tone for Alabama’s 30-24 victory over the Buffaloes in the Independence Bowl.

Caddell finished with four catches for a team-high 76 receiving yards and added 12 rushing yards on his only carry to close out his career in style and play a major role in making sure his last collegiate football game ended in an Alabama victory.

“He’s done a great job all year long,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “I thought one of the strengths of our team was our receiving corps. Matt’s been a good leader and a positive influence on our players.

“He made some great catches, won the Arkansas game for us and made a big play out there today, made a nice catch and a run and competed well.”

Caddell’s big game was sparked when he drew man-to-man coverage on the right side late in the opening period. He sprinted downfield, hustling past Colorado cornerback Terrence Wheatley. UA quarterback John Parker Wilson heaved the ball into the end zone and Caddell adjusted his route to make a sliding catch low to the ground for a 34-yard touchdown.

That score put Alabama up 20-0 with 1:31 to go in the first quarter.

“There’s nothing like that end zone,” Caddell said. “The coaches were just trying to give us options.

“They knew that Colorado would be doubling on DJ [Hall] much of the time, so we just had to open up chances for other people to make plays, and it worked for us.”

The Alabama defense held after Caddell’s touchdown catch, and he partially blocked Matt DiLallo’s punt, which went 24 yards after it was deflected as Caddell jumped up and down and pumped his fists in celebration.

“I’ve been working on trying to block a punt all year,” Caddell said. “It just felt good to go in there and go up and under and get my hands on one.”

Alabama took over at its own 35 early in the second quarter after the blocked punt and the Tide’s offense shifted to feature Caddell’s talents. He ran for 12 yards on a reverse on first down and gained 18 more yards two plays later on an inside screen pass, putting Alabama in position for Wilson’s 31-yard touchdown pass to Nikita Stover.

Caddell caught two balls for 24 more yards in the second half, but also lost a fumble and let another pass get through his hands.

“I think the Lord blessed me with a pretty great performance,” he said, “but I think I could have done better. I had a fumble and a dropped ball, but other than that I just wanted to do what I was capable of doing for us to win.”

Reach Tommy Deas at tommy.deas@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0224.