What Auburn football said about Cam Coleman's Iron Bowl-sealing fumble

AUBURN — The play that sealed Auburn football's sixth consecutive Iron Bowl loss was a multi-level sort of heartbreak.

Auburn trailed by a touchdown, but it was driving and nearing the red zone. Quarterback Ashton Daniels got it to one of his most reliable targets, Cam Coleman. The star receiver corralled a seven-yard reception, but he fumbled. Alabama's Deontay Lawson fell on it, and the Crimson Tide was able to drain nearly four minutes of clock.

That left Auburn with 12 seconds for a final drive, far from enough time to complete a comeback. Auburn fell 27-20. But the postgame message from interim head coach DJ Durkin for Coleman wasn't of disappointment.

"Obviously, in that moment, he was fighting, trying to get yards," Durkin said. "It happened. We've got to be better with our ball security for sure, but it's nothing for Cam to hang his head about. Cam's a great player and even better person."

Coleman, who appeared hobbled early in Auburn's opening drive of the Iron Bowl, still managed to post a productive line, with five receptions for 53 yards. He was credited with one of Auburn's five drops, but his Iron Bowl totals put him at a team-leading 735 receiving yards and 57 receptions this season.

The underclassman's abilities tied back to much of what his teammates said. Team captain Keldric Faulk said, "Everybody in the country knows that Cam is going to be a high draft pick next year. ... I'm sure he knows that." Daniels referred to Coleman as, "the best player that I've ever played with."

"This moment does not define him, whatsoever. It's one play. It's God's plan for him," Daniels said. "He's just done incredible things this year and last year, and he's going to continue to do incredible things for the rest of his career."

Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at [email protected] or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter. To support Adam's work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football reacts to Cam Coleman's Iron Bowl-sealing fumble