"It took an Alabama man to beat Alabama."

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Last weekend Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney made his way back from Syracuse to Clemson following the Tigers loss. He didn't stay put long. Shortly after two o'clock, Coach Swinney and several Clemson staff members jumped on a flight to Tuscaloosa to be a part of the 1992 Alabama Crimson Tide National Championship 25th anniversary celebration. 

Coach Swinney wasn't sure if he would be able to attend, but things just lined up for him including Clemson playing on a Friday night. When Swinney found out his coach and longtime mentor Gene Stallings was going to be there, he had to make every effort to attend.

Monday, Swinney said, "Coach just had a heart attack last week. When he said he was going, I really didn’t have any excuse." Making the trip allowed the two national championship winning head coaches had a chance to share a moment inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

© Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Stallings and Swinney share a moment together at the 25th anniversary of the 1992 National Championship.

Swinney said the trip, "Was just a great perspective for me. It was just what the doctor ordered. Just seeing my teammates and spending time with them." One of those former teammates was Willie Gaston.

In the 1992 SEC Championship game, Swinney made a tackle on a botched punt attempt by Florida and as Swinney put it, "Willie stole my shine."

Watch the play here:

During the rest of the exchange on the field, Swinney also mentioned to Gaston, "I tell the 'slow blink' story at least once a year." We wanted to hear more about the 'slow blink' story and Dabo Swinney's time at Alabama, so we caught up with Wille Gaston last night on Clemson Sports Talk.

You can hear the story behind Swinney's 'slow blink' comment in our full interview with Gaston at the top of this page.

Watch the "Slow Blink" exchange from Alabama's 1992 National Championship Celebration from Social Media and we also have Willie's video of the exchange with Coach Swinney.

Memory moment: Dabo Swinney messing around with former teammates. "This is payback for when you stole my shot in SEC Champ game." pic.twitter.com/k6MW7zgEHT

— Maria Martin (@Ria_Martin) October 14, 2017

Willie Gaston Interview: 

On if he thought Swinney would be a major college head coach Gaston flatly stated, "No," then chuckled, "Dabo was one of the most unlikely people to do that. He was smart, but as far as knowing that he wanted to be a head coach; had no idea."

Asked about Swinney's work ethic, Gaston said, "He always had the work ethic. That was one thing that was instilled in all of us when I was at Alabama. If you didn't work hard, you weren't going to touch the field."

During their playing days, Gaston informed us that, "Coach Swinney was one of the reasons why I was considered a pretty good defensive back. He would say, 'Come on Willie, you know you can do better than that.'" 

During their time on the field together this past weekend, Gaston pulled out his phone to capture the moment with Swinney, "I told everybody, I have to do this because people don't believe I know you. I want people to know that I know you, man!"

We wanted to know how it felt watching his former teammate beat Alabama for the national championship. "It was bittersweet, but I was happy for him. I told everyone, 'I won either way,' a lot of people don't understand that 'It took an Alabama man to beat Alabama, so I'm happy with it.'

You can listen to the entire interview with Willie Gaston at the top of this page. 

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