Long have the Crimson Tide suffered in the field goal kicking department, but with newly hired special teams coordinator, Jeff Banks, things could finally be on the upswing. More exciting news has been recently reported, as the graduate transfer placekicker from Temple, Austin Jones, will evidently be transferring to the Tuscaloosa.
Jones has battled injuries over the course of the last few seasons, but showed some promise during his first year. He went 13-of-22 in 2014, with a long of 47 yards. Despite battling multiple injuries, he finished his kicking career for the Owls connecting on 50-of-67 attempts (74.6%) with a career long of 47 yards out.
What makes Jones an exciting prospect for the Tide, despite the obvious kicking flaws, is that he seemed to improve greatly as time went on. He was a stellar 23-of-28 in his second season – good for a pristine 82.1%. The next seasons were rattled with injury, but he still managed to go a collective 14-of-17 throughout.
After missing what would have been a game winning field goal in the national championship game, it appears certain that Andy Papanastos is not the answer Banks will be looking for. While that is not to say that Austin Jones will simply be handed the job, Alabama fans may finally have a valid reason to be excited for the kicking game in 2018.
