Tag: kicker

Saints release backup kicker Austin Seibert, giving Blake Grupe the green light

Saints release backup kicker Austin Seibert, giving Blake Grupe the green light to continue kicking in black and gold:

Here’s a good sign for Blake Grupe moving forward. The New Orleans Saints released backup kicker Austin Seibert from the practice squad this week, giving Grupe the green light to continue kicking in black and gold.

Seibert was signed after a group tryout last week in the wake of Grupe’s groin injury. He’s been limited in practice but made all of his kicks (four extra point attempts and five kickoffs, two of which were touchbacks) last Sunday against the Detroit Lions. He’ll be up again for this week’s game with the Carolina Panthers.

Hopefully Grupe’s injury issues are behind him. The rookie has had an up-and-down NFL debut — he’s connected on 24 of 30 field goal tries for a success rate of 80%, which ranks 23rd among 34 qualifying kickers. On the upside, he’s hit all 23 point-after attempts. Grupe is one of 10 kickers who have scored 100% of their extra points this season. And 53 of his 62 kickoffs have been touchbacks (85.5%, which ranks 9th-best).

He just needs to be show more consistency on field goals. Some of Grupe’s misses have been due to a poor setup by his holder, rookie punter Lou Hedley, but he’s missed from a variety of distances. If he can bounce back from this injury and nail that down, the Saints decision-makers who have stuck by him — Dennis Allen and Mickey Loomis — will be feeling vindicated.

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Will Reichard named as SEC Special Teams Player of the Year

SEC recognizes Will Reichard as Special Teams Player of the Year

Not only will Alabama kicker Will Reichard go down in the Crimson Tide history books, but also the NCAA’s after becoming the all-time leader in points in college football history. The Alabama program had been littered with poor kickers for the majority of Saban’s tenure. Up until the arrival of Reichard.

He has been sensational for the Crimson Tide throughout his five-year career as he is 293/295 PAT attempts and 82/98 on field goals with only three of his 16 misses coming from under 40 yards. He has been Mr. Automatic for the Crimson Tide and was named the SEC’s Special Teams Player of the Year. Reichard was basically a shoe-in for the award this year as he was 20/23 on FGs and 53/53 on PATs as well as obviously having broke the points record.

Reichard will have one, maybe two more games to add onto his NCAA record before he will enter the 2024 NFL Draft.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Blake Grupe will kick for the Saints in Week 13 vs. Lions

Blake Grupe will kick for the Saints in Week 13 against the Lions. The rookie kicker has been dealing with a groin muscle injury, but he’s active:

Blake Grupe will kick for the New Orleans Saints in Week 13 against the  Detroit Lions. The rookie kicker has been dealing with a groin muscle injury, but he’s active — despite the team having signed a backup for him in veteran kicker Austin Seiebert earlier this week.

So he’ll have an opportunity to prove the job is his and his alone. Grupe has experienced some ups and downs this season but he scored all 15 points the Saints put on the board a week ago with five field goals in Atlanta. Saints head coach Dennis Allen has practiced a lot of patience with him, and the team clearly believes Grupe gives them the beset chance to win on Sunday.

We’ll see how he responds. Grupe has connected on 80% of his field goal tries this season, which ranks 24th around the league. But his 30 field goal attempts in his first 11 games are the third-most you’ll see in the NFL this season. Here’s hoping he comes through when the Saints call him up.

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LOOK: Social media reacts to Will Reichard breaking the CFB points record

Social media shows love to Alabama kick Will Reichard after he broke the college football all-time points record.

Alabama football kicker Will Reichard officially stands alone as the all-time leading points scorer in college football history after a first quarter field goal in the 2023 SEC Championship.

Reichard joined the Crimson Tide as a member of the 2019 recruiting class and he has been a major contributor every year that he’s been with the program.

The field goal put him at 533 career points scored, surpassing former Navy wide receiver Keenan Reynolds. After he made the field goal, fans took to social media to show love to the kicker in his last season.

Here are the best reactions and sentiments shared to social media from Alabama fans and college football fans alike.

Will Reichard makes college football history as all-time points leader

Alabama kicker Will Reichard has officially made history as the all-time points leader in college football

Alabama football kicker Will Reichard officially stands alone as the all-time leading points scorer in college football history.

Reichard tied former Navy wide receiver Keenan Reynolds with 530 career points scored with an impressive Iron Bowl performance to end the regular season. He wasted no time in surpassing him, and setting a new record with a first quarter field goal.

He will have an opportunity to build on his record and separate himself from the pack throughout the remainder of the SEC Championship as the Crimson Tide closes out the 2023 season.

A native of Hoover, Alabama, Reichard was a member of the 2019 recruiting class and his impact was felt as soon as he stepped on campus.

Reichard’s college career was special in the eyes of Alabama fans and he will now be remembered as one of the best to ever play the game as he will likely look to continue his career at the professional level.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to cover Will Reichard and Alabama football as they finish their season.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on X @SpurrFM. 

Mason Crosby among free agent kickers auditioning at Saints group tryout

Longtime Packers specialist Mason Crosby is among the free agent kickers auditioning for the Saints at Tuesday’s group tryout. Is Blake Grupe in peril?

Blake Grupe scored all 15 points the New Orleans Saints put on the board in Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons, but now they’re looking at possible replacements. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports that the Saints hosted several free agent kickers at the team facility Tuesday for a group tryout.

The rookie has struggled throughout the season, connecting on 24 of his 30 field goal tries (80%); Grupe has also missed two kicks in his last three games, and he received treatment for a groin muscle injury late last week. But he hit five of his six field goal tries to at least keep the Saints competitive in their 24-15 loss in Atlanta.

So who are the Saints looking at? Here are the kickers Underhill reported are in town:

5 positions the Oklahoma Sooners should target via the transfer portal

With the transfer portal set to open up next week, what position groups could the Sooners target for some help?

With just one game left to put a bow on the 2023 season, Oklahoma’s vision has widened a bit to prepare for 2024. 2024 is a significant year in the history of Oklahoma football as the Sooners will be moving to the SEC along with the Texas Longhorns.

Oklahoma’s 2023 season is a success after a dismal 2022 campaign where they won just six games. The Sooners have already won 10 games and have shown a lot of growth on and off the field.

Looking at the roster heading into the new calendar year, it’s easy to see that while Oklahoma got better, they will have some holes they must address immediately.

And that’s where the transfer portal comes in.

Oklahoma could lose significant pieces on the offensive and defensive lines and at quarterback. They could also add talent to the secondary and the linebacker unit.

This year, they benefitted from the transfer portal by landing Walter Rouse from Stanford, a rock-solid left tackle who routinely posted some of the best pass-blocking grades on the team, per Pro Football Focus. Da’Jon Terry was a foundational piece of a defense that took a step forward.

Other names like Andrel Anthony, Dasan McCullough, and Reggie Pearson made immediate impacts in their first year with the Sooners.

The transfer portal doesn’t officially open until Dec. 4, but players nationwide have begun announcing their plans to enter the portal.

Here’s a look at five positions the Sooners could target in the transfer portal.

Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker is perfect on field goals through 11 games

#Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker hasn’t missed a field goal or extra point attempt through 11 games.

The Kansas City Chiefs have had their share of standout kickers over the years, but few have been as accurate as Harrison Butker, who hasn’t missed a single field goal through 11 games in the 2023 season.

The team recognized Butker’s efforts in a post on Twitter today, noting that their golden-legged kicker is 48-for-48 on his field goal and extra point attempts heading into Kansas City’s Week 13 matchup against the Green Bay Packers.

Butker has been one of the Chiefs’ most productive players for years now, and the results of his efforts speak for themselves. One of the most important qualities a kicker can have is unwavering consistency, especially when games are in their most critical moments.

The former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket has demonstrated that he excels in crunch time, and will hope to parlay his impressive streak of 48 consecutive successful kicks into another win for Kansas City on Sunday against the Packers.

Will Reichard continues to close in on college football history

Alabama kicker Will Reichard is only 21 points away from becoming the all-time points leader in college football history

Alabama kicker Will Reichard is already the football program’s all-time leading points scorer, but he’s likely got a bigger goal in mind: becoming the all-time college football leader in points.

A native of Hoover, Reichard joined the Crimson Tide in 2019 as one of the nation’s highest-rated kickers. Now in his fifth year with the team, Reichard has amassed a total of 509 points scored.

His freshman season in 2019 got things started with a total of 33 points, then 126 in 2020, followed by his career-high 137 in 2021, he came close last season with 130 and currently has 83 on the 2023 season.

How far away is he from history? Well, he currently sits at No. 3 on the all-time leading points list. He’s 13 points behind Louisiana Tech running back Kenneth Dixon, and Reichard is only 21 points behind the first-place spot, currently held by Navy’s Keenan Reynolds.

Only time will tell if Reichard will be able to surpass Reynolds, but with two regular season games, a conference championship, and a bowl game (with the possibility of a national championship appearance, if applicable), things look good for the Alabama native.

He only needs seven field goals, or 21 extra points, or any combination of the two. We can sit here and list out the possibilities, but all that’s important to know is that every time you see Reichard out on that field from now on, remember that he’s getting one step closer to making history.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football as the 2023 regular season comes to a close.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on X @SpurrFM. 

Fantasy Football: 10 best waiver wire targets for Week 11

Vikings running back Ty Chandler headlines this week’s list of fantasy football waiver wire targets.

Following the Denver Broncos’ game against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in Week 10, fantasy football managers will begin putting in waiver wire claims for Week 11.

So, who are the best waiver wire targets this week? Our list includes options at running back, wide receiver, tight end, quarterback and kicker. The list is highlighted by a pair of young RBs who might be on the verge of getting larger workloads.

In Baltimore, Gus Edwards continues to lead the Ravens’ backfield (he had 11 carries on Sunday), but rookie Keaton Mitchell won’t go away. Mitchell only got three carries in Week 10, but he turned them into 34 yards and a touchdown. He also caught one pass for 32 yards.

In Minnesota, Ty Chandler might be on the verge of taking over the Vikings’ backfield. Chandler (15 carries) was more involved than Alexander Mattison (eight carries), and the second-year RB also scored a touchdown.

Chandler and Mitchell are the top priorities on the waiver wire this week.

Each player’s rostered percentage in ESPN fantasy football leagues is listed in parentheses. Ready? Let’s get to the full list!