He was the star of the conversation through Monday’s player interviews.
The group of Henry Ruggs III, Miller Forristall, Terrell Lewis and Jared Mayden still cannot believe what they saw on last week versus Tennessee.
Under a brand-new lighting feature, Alabama trusted a true freshman walk-on at punter and he brought the crowd to its feet.
Ty Perine, a native of Prattville, Ala., was one of six players elected for weekly honors via the coaching staff after his performance. Will Reichard, true freshman kicker, got the starting nod at punter, but he reinjured his hip on his first attempt as the ball traveled just 33 yards.
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Instead of going to Skyler DeLong, Saban rolled the dice and went with Perine.
Although his first attempt traveled 42 yards, it was Perine’s second punt that restored memories of JK Scott for Tide fans and one which also opened eyes to him as an athlete.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder hit a moon shot 51 yards and it hung in the air for what appeared to be an eternity.
He would then proceed to fly downfield to cover his own kick and made the tackle.
As much as people are excited about his punting style, Perine also handled kickoffs and field goals in his high school. He drilled a couple of game winners, including a 64-yard attempt against Stanhope-Elmore. According to Caleb Ross, Perine’s head coach at Prattville, he executed all kicking duties for the program and guided the Lions to the playoffs in 2018.
During a question and answer segment with reporters, Saban said Reichard will miss this weekend’s matchup with Arkansas. In seeing the latest struggles from Joseph Bulovas in both field goals and kickoffs, should the Crimson Tide let Perine handle all its kicking duties?
It is definitely a thought worth entertaining, especially now that everyone knows he has an exceptional leg in one aspect of the game. Going back to something Ross said to yours truly of Touchdown Alabama Magazine, he stated that Perine ‘taught himself’ how to be a specialist.
“I recognized it on the first day I was here,” Ross said. “He was punting and it sounded different coming off his foot. I kept telling myself if he can get consistent, he can kick on Saturdays and Sundays.”
To Ross’ delight, he punted last week and a bigger window of opportunity is about to open.
Alabama is already preparing two quarterbacks for its matchup with the Razorbacks, so it could not hurt to get Perine ready to kick. We will see what happens on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
