Shaun Shivers was such a curious story.

Now he's a curious legend.

The Tigers' diminutive tailback scored one of the most spectacular touchdowns in Iron Bowl history last weekend by knocking a defender's helmet three feet in the air en route to a go-ahead touchdown during the fourth quarter. Moments don't get much bigger.

Yet Shivers remains such an odd player. Why? Officially listed at 5-foot-7, he's not big enough to bang routinely with Southeastern Conference linebackers despite playing with an angry disposition on the field. Malzahn was advised to pass on Shivers during recruiting due to size, but the Auburn coach loved the kid's attitude, his acceleration and the way he tends to sneak up on defenders.

Shivers' height affects how everybody views him. Even those charged with tackling him.

Which takes us to the 2019 Iron Bowl. Shivers had enjoyed a so-so season (and career) to that point. He's been a solid change-of-pace back for the Tigers, but his inability to change directions fluidly kept him mostly confined to a peripheral role.

But he's hell on the Wildcat sweep. It's perfect for him — Shivers is afforded a lot of room to get moving, there is no need to slow down, only one cut is required. And even that one cut can be smoothed into a bend if conditions are right.

Malzahn was facing a 3rd-and-5 mid-way through the fourth quarter last weekend. Tailback 28 Boobee Whitlow had been effective both as a traditional "4" back and in the featured Wildcat role. Malzahn bucked those trends by calling a pre-determined hand-off to Shivers on the Wildcat jet.

It's the play Shivers was made to run. And this was the time to run it.

Here's how it looks on paper:

We see this play somewhat often from Malzahn, but that doesn't dilute its thoughtful design. The player most likely to wreck this play is the play-side 'backer, who in this case is aligned behind a tackle and even with the center. That means right tackle 71 Jack Driscoll's climb to block that play-side 'backer is of critical importance.

So Malzahn gives him a built-in advantage by pulling the play-side guard away from the point of attack. Why? That guard's block isn't going to be valuable on a perimeter run anyway — and that play-side 'backer is taught to follow the guard's pull.

If that play-side 'backer takes just one step toward the boundary, it helps Driscoll reach him and block him.

The pulling guard also forces the play-side tackle, shaded in red above, to step down into that gap because, well, that's basic football. That step-down stymies him long enough to keep him from ever getting a hand on the sweeping tailback.

Two men (the 'over' tackle and the H-back) release widely and attempt to wash the play-side end out of the rush lane. Plus some wideout blocks to keep the play-side defensive backs out of the play. If the blocking if effective, Shivers will have a nice hole through which to zip.

Here's how it looked in real time:

So that worked exactly as Malzahn wanted. Though the pulling guard didn't really affect the play-side 'backer, Driscoll nonetheless was able to climb into that block without issue. That block also obstructed the back-side 'backer from flowing directly to the runner.

As for the safety who lost his helmet, I'm still surprised by how that happened. He didn't even attempt to initiate that contact and instead almost reluctantly side-bodied Shivers. He's standing almost straight-up, too, and that's no way to attack a compact runner like Shivers. It's a complete failure on the safety's part. I'm guessing he expected one of the first-level guys to at least slow Shivers' march. When they didn't, well, he was doomed.

This is not an exotic call by any means, but good football doesn't have to be exotic.

It has to be passionate. That's really the bottom line. You must believe in what you're doing.

Shivers did. The Alabama safety didn't.

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