Alabama football appreciated everything Will Reichard did in the kicking game for five seasons.
He arrived in the Crimson Tide’s 2019 recruiting class as a three-star from Hoover (Ala.) High School, yet he was arguably one of the most consistent specialists of the Nick Saban era.
Reichard is now in the National Football League for the Minnesota Vikings, but Alabama is expected to have a strong kicking game in the fall.
James Burnip, Kneeland Hibbett, and Conor Talty are back at punter, long snapper, and kicker from 2023. The Tide also got a kicker from the NCAA transfer portal in Graham Nicholson.
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Kalen DeBoer singled out Alabama’s specialists after Sunday’s fall camp practice.
Nicholson, a former standout at the University of Miami at Ohio, had a decorative career in the Mid-American Conference. He won the Lou Groza Award last season, following a year of making 25 of 27 field goals and 35 of 37 PAT attempts.
Nicholson earned MAC Special Teams Player of the Year honors, Consensus All-American honors, first-team All-MAC honors. He set an NCAA single-season record with making 25 straight field goals. Coach DeBoer loves Nicholson confidence and mindset.
Alabama HC Kalen DeBoer believes the Crimson Tide have the best specialists in college football.
He loves the ‘confidence’ and ‘mindset’ of transfer kicker Graham Nicholson. DeBoer also praised James Burnip, Kneeland Hibbett, and Conor Talty.@TDAlabamaMag @TouchdownETP pic.twitter.com/cuZpygb553
— Stephen M. Smith (@CoachingMSmith) August 4, 2024
“He is great to have with us,” DeBoer said about Nicholson.
“I think the team has accepted him in, and I think he feels a part of it. You can’t help but look at what this guy has done in the past and know that he is really good. You can see why every day. He’s got a good process, and I am glad he’s here.”
Burnip, a native Australian, is in his third season as Alabama’s punter.
After averaging 42.3 yards per punt in 2022, Burnip improved that number to 47.6 yards per attempt last year. He had several punts travel 50-plus yards, including five 60-plus yard attempts.
Burnip is a preseason candidate for the Ray Guy Award.
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Hibbett, a native of Florence, Ala., is in his fourth season as a long snapper.
He earned the starting job late in fall camp for 2021 and grabbed first-team All-SEC honors last year. Conor Talty, who came in the 2023 class as a three-star kicker, is in his second season with the program. He is pushing for an opportunity as well.
DeBoer praised Burnip, Hibbett, and Talty. He said Talty has ‘done a good job kicking’ in this camp.
“I feel like our specialists are going to be as good as any across the country,” DeBoer said.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
