Vinnie Sunseri dives into the endzone as he returns an interception for a touchdown against Texas A&M. (AP photo)
The son of a defensive mind and a student of defensive football since his infancy, Alabama defensive back Vinnie Sunseri was meant to play defense.
But that did not keep him from dabbling as a ballcarrier in high school. To the point where he took on an offensive lineman head-on to finish off a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown that gave the Crimson Tide a 35-14 lead just a few minutes into the third quarter.
“I played running back and returner in high school,” Sunseri said. “I’m not saying credit to that, I’m saying credit to all of the people around me who made great plays for me and I was able to make a play. All credit goes to the coaches. It’s a blessing.”
Alabama head coach Nick Saban saw the chain of events that led to Sunseri’s pick.
“We’re playing man-to-man, and really, Jarrick Williams did a good job of covering his man, tipping the ball in the air,” Saban said. “Vinnie was in the right place at the right time, broke on the ball and came down with the tip.”
Sunseri’s interception was one of two thrown by Johnny Manziel: one that gave Alabama points and another that cost the Aggies points, intercepted in the endzone by Cyrus Jones.
“Big plays. We needed turnovers,” Sunseri said. “To get those kind of turnovers in those kinds of situations were huge momentum-shifters in the game.”
Saban added, “I think it was the turning point in the game when Cyrus got that interception in the endzone.”
After the game, Sunseri’s mind still went back to the return: a couple broken tackles, six points and a flashback to the high school days.
“I’m going to call my high school coach and ask him if he saw it,” Sunseri said.
(RELATED: Click here to see video of Sunseri celebrating his touchdown, plus more video from the sidelines of Kyle Field.)
