TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama football added its second player via the spring transfer window on Sunday night when Miami (Ohio) kicker Graham Nicholson announced his commitment via his X account. Nicholson won the 2023 Lou Groza Award for the nation’s best kicker, connecting on 27 of 28 field goal attempts, including 25 straight, which set an NCAA record.
Nicholson, who has one year of eligibility remaining, is set to replace outgoing kicker and all-time NCAA scoring leader Will Reichard and stabilizes arguably the biggest weakness on Alabama’s roster exiting spring practice.
What does commitment mean for Tide
Much of spring practice centered on the competition and the need for more pieces at positions such as offensive line and defensive back, but kicker was equally a large question mark. Sophomore Conor Talty, who’s on scholarship, battled walk-ons Upton Bellefant and Reid Schuback throughout spring but none of them created enough separation through 15 practices to outright win the job. Coach Kalen DeBoer described the situation as “an open competition ” toward the end of spring practice.
It’s a move that will pay dividends in the short and long term.
Reichard was a critical piece to last season’s success as his consistency nearly guaranteed three points when Alabama got into scoring range. In a new system under DeBoer that expects to put up points, Nicholson is the best option the Tide could’ve hoped for: He converted 10 of 11 attempts from 40-plus yards a season ago with a long of 52 yards.
Nicholson’s career 85 percentage is just above Reichard’s (84 percent), and with returning punter James Burnip, an All-SEC performer last season, Nicholson forms one of the best kicker-punter duos in the nation. Nicholson’s addition alleviates the pressure from Talty, who has promise but isn’t quite ready to be the lead kicker. Talty can continue developing under another All-America kicker and will have another opportunity to win the kicker job next spring.
— Graham Nicholson (@gnicholson99) April 22, 2024
It’s worth noting that Alabama secured this commitment without a full-time special teams coach on staff. Jay Nunes is the lead special teams analyst, an off-field role, but will be charged with crafting the game plans for the on-field coaches to implement. The messaging and plan for Nicholson and the special teams unit resonated, leading to Nicholson’s trust and ultimately his commitment, and it’s another strong recruiting win for DeBoer and the new staff.
Alabama hasn’t been active in the spring portal window; offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor is the only other addition. Meanwhile, no scholarship Alabama player entered the portal in the first week of the spring window. Expect Alabama to continue sifting through the portal for players at positions of need, particularly defensive back. The deadline for players to enter the portal during this window is April 30.
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(Photo: Lon Horwedel / USA Today)
