It’s common knowledge among football players of a certain age or proficiency level: you can rely on the placekicker or punter to do something outlandish.

At the White House on Wednesday, J.K. Scott did not disappoint.

Scott, a senior All-American punter with national champion Alabama, visited the White House on Tuesday along with his teammates and coach, Nick Saban, where President Trump praised the Crimson Tide for their overtime, come-from-behind victory over Georgia in January.

These White House visits by champion sports teams are commonplace, even with a president like Trump, for whom voters’ approval tends to run red-hot or stone cold, with few registering lukewarm. Traditionally speaking, it’s out of respect for the office that these invitations are extended, and accepted.

Trump complimented Saban and the Tide for their “win for the ages.” It happens to be Saban’s fifth championship at Alabama in nine years. When Trump called it Saban’s sixth championship, Saban politely corrected the president.

“Was it five or six? I thought it was six,” Trump replied.

“Five here and one at LSU,” the coach said.

“They (LSU) shouldn’t have let you go, coach. They’re thinking about that,” Trump shot back.

It was all what you’d expect: college athletes on their best behavior, a chummy president and coaches making the most of a PR camera op. Coach Saban reportedly even made a couple of recruiting calls from the White House — he wouldn’t waste the chance to boast to a few key potential players where a future Tide might roll.

Any vestige of political animosity had been checked at the front gate.

Given the times, that should have been a satisfactory outcome — no gaffes or embarrassments by the college kids or the notoriously impulsive president.

But what happened next — what J.K. Scott, the punter, did — put the incident over the top.

Nearly every media outlet missed it, except Fox News affiliate WBRC from Birmingham, Alabama, whose news crew stuck around the end of the ceremony. Apparently the other crews had to hustle back to Capitol Hill for the congressional undressing of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Scott made a simple but unexpected request of Trump: Some of us want to say a prayer for you, Mr. President. Would you join us?

Trump joined Scott. A handful of teammates encircled the president. Secret Service agents stood by while the men prayed quietly together.

WBRC News sports reporter Christina Chambers posted video on her Twitter page (@ChristinaWBRC) of the players surrounding Trump and praying with him. Chambers tweeted:

“What a cool moment! .@AlabamaFTBL JK Scott asked @POTUS if he could pray for him and his staff. Video below shows President Trump and Bama players praying after the Tide’s @WhiteHouse visit!”

It was the most admirable and respectful gesture we’ve seen in some time — and we wanted to make sure Butler Eagle readers didn’t miss reading about it.