Will Reichard, Alabama’s placekicker, excelled on field goals and extra points in the last two seasons.
He has an exceptional leg, but another part of his success comes from his long snapper.
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Kneeland Hibbett, a native of Florence, Ala., is in his third year with the Crimson Tide. He arrived as a walk-on in the 2021 class and earned the starting job in preseason camp. Hibbett assisted Reichard to being perfect on extra points (64-for-64) and making 22 of 26 field goals, which is good for 84.6 percent. The 6-foot-2, 245-pounder also helped James Burins average 42.3 yards per punt in 2022. Hibbett is on the Patrick Mannelly Award watch list, which goes to college football’s top long snapper.
All of us at The Patrick Mannelly Award are proud to announce this years preseason watchlist for the top college Long Snapper in the country!
For more information, please go to The https://t.co/NMujuHUSZB pic.twitter.com/4B6mo8y3GI
— The Patrick Mannelly Long Snapper Award (@MannellyAward) July 31, 2023
The award was founded in 2019, and Thomas Fletcher (2020) was the first Alabama player to win it.
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We will see how Hibbett performs in the upcoming fall.
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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.
