In need of a big play in the first quarter of its game against LSU, Alabama turned to an unlikely hero.

When Tigers’ fullback J.C. Copeland took the handoff around the left side, quarterback Zach Mettenberger threw his hands up in celebration, long before he approached the goal line.

But Tana Patrick, a reserve senior linebacker who only plays in goal line situations, wrapped his right arm around Copeland and swatted the ball out of his hands, ending the Tigers’ first touchdown attempt and essentially taking seven points off the board.

“Tana, when he gets in, he does his job,” linebacker Trey Depriest said. “That fumble was key. It stopped them from potentially scoring and just changed, really, the momentum of the game. Tana is just a hard-nosed guy. He doesn’t play much. But when his number’s called he goes out there and performs.”

Patrick’s Alabama career hasn’t exactly gone the way he hoped it would. Like most players on the Crimson Tide, Patrick came in as a highly touted linebacker. The Bridgeport, Ala., native, however, never consistently saw the field.

He made a combined 29 tackles over his first three seasons at Alabama, many of which came on special teams or in mop-up duty at the end of a blowout game.

“I think it could have gone better for me. I’m not complaining. I’m working with some of the best coaches and players and getting better. It’s making me a better person and better all-around person,” Patrick said.

“Where I’m from, we are always putting in hard work. My mom is always going to work and taking care of us. It’s something that she put into us.”

Alabama coach Nick Saban and the rest of the team preached all week that games against LSU always come down to three or four big plays. Patrick made one of them.

“Tana is a great guy,” linebacker Denzel Devall said. “He practices every day, busting the ball out, and it paid off this Saturday. He made a great play. We knew it was going to come down to one big play or two big plays. That was a big play.”

Patrick could get more snaps over the next two weeks as Alabama travels to Starkville to take on Mississippi State before hosting FCS Chattanooga.

But he’ll always be able to say he made one of the biggest plays of Alabama’s 2013 season.

“You always like to see players make plays. Tana has been a guy that, whatever his role has been here, he’s been willing to play. He never gets disappointed, never gets frustrated. He’s always upbeat and positive. He’s played for us all year on the goal line,” Saban said. “That was certainly a huge play in the game early on when we weren’t playing well.

“It made a huge difference in the outcome of the game, too, I’m sure. We’re very excited and happy to see him make the play, but it was great for our team as well.”