Last Saturday night in Bryant-Denny Stadium, Alabama football fans got to see something that has been a rare occurrence for the Crimson Tide in recent memory: the Wildcat formation.

The Wildcat is when the ball is snapped directly to a player who is not the quarterback. It’s a simple but rare change that is rarely seen in coach Nick Saban’s offense.

“With the advent of the spread and all the quarterback runs that go with the spread, which are misdirection plays, read sweep, Q powers, all kinds of different things that the quarterback can be a runner on,” Saban said. “Now the Wildcat, if you have a guy that can do those type of things, it has expanded not just to be direct runs but to be a lot of the quarterback runs that people running the spread with a guy that maybe is a better runner or has more running back-type skills.”

Most plays run out of the Wildcat stay on the ground. The Crimson Tide used it occasionally in short-yardage situations with running back Josh Jacobs last year, but over the past decade, Alabama has only thrown out of the Wildcat formation three times. 

The only completion came via a pass from wide receiver Marquis Maze to tight end Michael Williams for a 19-yard touchdown in 2010 against Florida.

The other two attempts resulted in an incompletion thrown by running back Mark Ingram in 2009 against Auburn and a goal-line interception thrown again by Maze to Williams against LSU in 2011.

Against Tennessee, Alabama saw success throwing from the Wildcat for only the second time in 10 years.

In the third quarter, redshirt sophomore quarterback Mac Jones, who was in for the injured junior quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, split to the left side of the field. Redshirt freshman Slade Bolden stood in the shotgun formation a few yards behind the center.

Bolden took the snap, faked the end-around to junior wide receiver Henry Ruggs III, which forced the linebackers to hesitate for just an instant. During the split-second of hesitation, redshirt junior tight end Miller Forristall snuck past the Volunteers’ defensive backs. Bolden’s throw hit his mark for the crucial touchdown.

Forristall said that the play had been in the making for quite some time.

“Before the game, we definitely talked,” Forristall said. “I was like, ‘Slade, what if you threw a touchdown?’ And he was all excited. Obviously, he’s such a great athlete. That guy is great with the ball in his hands. I’d be confident to say he’s going to run the ball some more before it’s all said and done. That was super cool.”

Bolden played quarterback in high school and has since transitioned to wide receiver. His experience under center, however, provides him with a skill set that is not often utilized by wide receivers at Alabama – at least, not recently.

While at West Monroe High School in Louisiana, Bolden threw for 1,622 yards and 20 touchdowns during his senior season. With numbers like those, it’s easy to see why Saban wanted to utilize him in the Wildcat formation.

Ruggs was glad to see Bolden get an opportunity to relive his high school days.

“I was real happy,” Ruggs said. “We were so happy – it’s like celebrating – you kind of got lost and didn’t know where Slade was. That’s another guy coming in – Slade has a little package where he’s coming in and making plays and for him to throw a touchdown pass, he feels like he’s back in high school. That was just a good moment for him, and if you see his celebration you can tell how excited he was.”

It’s not known when or if fans can expect to see the Wildcat being used again by the Crimson Tide offense in the near future. Misdirection and deception on the offensive side of the ball, while always playing a factor, will be more valuable than ever in the coming weeks.

With Tagovailoa announced out for this weekend’s Homecoming matchup against Arkansas, catching defenses off-guard is now a must. Jones is slated to start at the quarterback position, and while he now has a week to prepare for the Razorbacks, the offense will need assistance from the Alabama receiving corps.

“It’s a change of pace,” Forristall said. “Something else other teams have to prepare for – kind of get a different look at everything. It’s fun. I enjoy it.”