Vanderbilt cornerback Allan George proposed to Katlyn Richardson on Aug. 30 in a heartwarming moment captured on video by linebacker Andre Mintze.
George, a redshirt junior, surprised his girlfriend of two years with the proposal and was congratulated by multiple teammates shortly thereafter.
“You are playing man-to-man, no help [defense] in overtime,” senior linebacker Brayden DeVault-Smith said.
No pressure.
George told Richarson, a member of Vanderbilt’s cheerleading team, that the two would take the field for senior photos. They were joined by Vanderbilt athletics photographer Erica Duane and Mintze, who runs his own YouTube channel and claimed to be there to learn how to use his camera.
Unbeknownst to Richardson, George was planning on proposing, and Mintze was there to film the surprise.
Richardson said yes—and in the process, created a viral video that has been picked up by House of Highlights, SEC Network, Bleacher Report and Overtime, among others. At the time of publication, Mintze’s Youtube video has over 12,000 views, the abbreviated video on his TikTok has tallied over 311,000 views and the aforementioned reposts have combined for north of 170,000 views.
“I’m excited for Allan,” Coach Derek Mason said during Tuesday’s press conference. “When he told me he was getting engaged, I said, ‘Are you truly ready for this?’ He looked at me and he just smiled. I think for me, I felt like a dad at that point in time because I said, ‘listen, man, go do what you do.”
After taking a round of photos together, Richardson began taking solo shots. Meanwhile, George secured his ring from Mintze’s pocket. When she turned around, Richardson was surprised to see her boyfriend on one knee asking for her hand in marriage.
George, a native of Andalusia, Alabama, started in 11 of 12 games as a redshirt sophomore in 2019, finishing with 38 total tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, one interception and one fumble recovery. He is expected to start for the Commodores in 2020.
