Alabama football’s newest kicker commit, Conor Talty had no idea playing football at the University of Alabama was a possibility for him a month ago.
The St. Rita High School rising senior had his mind set on the end of his recruitment in June. He had camped and visited a couple of programs not named Alabama, and the Crimson Tide were not on his mind until he got a call from kicker specialist, Chris Sailer on June. 23.
“He basically told me Alabama was still looking for a kicker,” Talty said. “I got off the phone, I booked a flight and the next morning, I was down in Alabama for their camp slash visit. I did really well at the camp. They said they would keep in touch, and they would wait to go over some film.”
It did not take very long for Alabama to get back in touch with Talty. He was on a FaceTime call with the Tide’s special teams coordinator Coleman Hutzler a few weeks after his visit to Tuscaloosa. Hutzler informed Talty he earned an offer from the Tide during the call.
“I was with my family,” said Talty. ” We were sitting in a row. It was my mom, me and my dad, and they just hugged me. It was just a really cool feeling.”
A couple of days after tweeting he received an offer from the Tide, the St. Rita product tweeted he was committing to play his college football at the University of Alabama. The academic and athletic opportunities UA provides its student-athletes were too much for Talty to pass up.
“With an Alabama degree, you can do anything you want,” Talty said. “It can set you up for life after football. I love that. For the football aspect, it is Alabama. It is as big as it gets.”
Alabama’s starting kicker Will Reichard is expected to move on at the conclusion of next season, which is why the Tide prioritized bringing in a kicker in the 2023 class. Reichard’s expected departure has Talty excited about the opportunity it will give him.
“I like the situation I am walking into with Will Reichard graduating,” Talty added. “It kind of opens the door for me to be the next guy for the next four to five years. That is huge because not a lot of schools gives kid that opportunity, and I would love to be a freshman starter.”
The rising senior nailed 9 of his 13 field goal attempts during the 2021 football season. His long came from 42 yards out. He said he wants to work on perfecting his form.
“I feel I have incredible leg strength, but I want to perfect my form when I kick the ball,” Talty said. “I want to improve my ball flight as well. I want my kicks to cut through the wind, so it does not move as much. In a college stadium, the wind swirls a lot. I want to get a lot of that work in, so I can get used to the live operations I will be experiencing at Alabama because I mean with 100,000 fans, you got to be ready for that.”
Watch Conor Talty Junior Highlights Below:
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Justin Smith is a Scouting/Recruiting analyst for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via @Jdsmith31Smith
