MIAMI — Tennessee kicker Chase McGrath vaulted himself into Tennessee lore with the kick of a lifetime on the Third Saturday of October.
McGrath knocked in a 40-yard game-winning field goal against Alabama that sent Rocky Top into an absolute frenzy and an unforgettable moment.
It was quite the road to get to that moment though.
He began his college career six years ago at USC, his dream school.
“Growing up USC was the school I always wanted to go to. I grew up seeing Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and all those guys,” McGrath said. “I grew up being a USC fan and wanted that opportunity.”
He joined as a walk-on freshman. He beat a scholarship player for the starting kicker job. He was then thrust into a pressure position on the first kick of his college career.
He lined up for a field goal to send a game to overtime against Texas. He made it.
“You got to grow up pretty fast, you know,” he said.
His second career kick was even bigger. In the same game, he had to hit a kick to win the game in double overtime. He made that, too.
“You get to feel the whole magnitude of what just happened,” he said.
He was off to a great start. One day short of a year later, it was a complete 180 in emotions against Texas again.
McGrath lined up for a kick, it was blocked and while he went chasing down a tackle to stop a touchdown, he tore his ACL in his kicking leg.
“I get under the tent and they can tell off the test that you tore your ACL, you’re probably out the rest of the year,” McGrath said.
The road back to playing again wasn’t easy and was filled with uncertainty.
“That year was very difficult,” he said. “I was in rehab every single day. It was a grind.”
He would recover from his injury and take back over starting duties in 2019. But in 2020 fall camp -- he had tendinitis in his knee. McGrath missed regular season games and even when healthy was replaced as starting kicker.
He decided it was best to enter the transfer portal.
“I never saw an opportunity to go back in there and so I looked elsewhere,” he said.
Many schools came calling, none of which he wanted to leave USC for. Until one school was worth leaving for.
“It was tight when Tennessee called though, the moment they called, the opportunity there was a no-brainer for me,” he said.
McGrath’s former USC teammate and good friend Velus Jones Jr. who was at UT urged McGrath to come to Rocky Top if given the chance. The lure of playing for a historic program with great resources like UT was too good for McGrath to pass on.
Head coach Josh Heupel and staff had just arrived at Tennessee when he got the call to come.
“All I remember was hopping on the phone and they were like, ‘We just landed, all we know is we need a kicker, do you want to come?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah let’s do it.’ Within 24 hours I was on a plane coming over here,” he said.
Since then, McGrath has made 27 field goals and owns the single-season record for extra points made.
But what he will be remembered for at Tennessee is what he did on the Third Saturday of October.
Prior to his game-winning kick, he said he knew he’d have a chance to impact the game on Alabama’s drive where they ended up missing a field goal before the Vols got it back for their final drive.
He said he always stays mentally ready for his name to be called.
“Whether they made the field goal or ended up not making the field goal, whatever the scenario was I was going to have to attempt to tie it or win it,” he said.
After the Crimson Tide missed the field goal, Tennessee marched down the field in no time thanks to incredible plays from Hendon Hooker, Ramel Keyton and Bru McCoy.
It was time for McGrath to try and break the 49-49 tie in the last moments of regulation.
“Yeah going out on the field, you’re not really thinking about anything,” McGrath said. “I’m sure if I had something hooked up to me my heart rate would have been a little up there.”
The kick went through, the rest is history. Fans stormed the field, cigars were lit and it was the highlight of McGrath’s career.
He was able to get out of the middle of the field where the people piled up and tore down the goalposts. He went and spent time with his family.
He just took in the moments of what he had just done.
“It was just cool to see how impactful the moment was for so many people and I could play a little bit of a part in that,” he said. “You know and they remember that. It’s an honor.”
When McGrath started playing college football, he was randomly assigned the number 40.
It had little significance until in his sixth and final year -- that game-winning field goal against Alabama was a 40-yard field goal. McGrath reflected on that as an encapsulation of his time playing college ball, and what a journey it has been.
“Started off, got a random number as a freshman at USC,” he said. “Started my career with a pretty big-sized game. Then had my last season -- number 40 -- I guess again, with the 40-yard field goal you could say that ended it. Ended my career that way. It’s been a fun six years. It’s been a long six years, but it has been fun.”