Tag: Will Reichard

Bryce Young & Will Reichard earn SEC Weekly honors recognition

These two stars stood above the rest in the SEC!

The Alabama Crimson Tide took down the No. 14 ranked Miami Hurricanes in Atlanta on Saturday to kickoff their 2021 seasons. The game ended with an Alabama win, which looked effortless, as the fourth quarter ended with a score of 44-13.

Alabama’s win could be credited to many different players, but there are two that not only stood above the rest of their team, but the SEC overall.

Quarterback Bryce Young, who made his debut as the starting quarterback, was named the SEC’s offensive player of the week. He tallied 344 passing yards and four passing touchdowns among other impressive accolades from Saturday.

Kicker Will Reichard was named the SEC’s special teams player of the week. He did not miss a single kick all season in 2020, and the streak continues into the 2021 season, as he drilled three field goals and five extra points.

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Alabama football: Grading the Tide’s win over the Miami Hurricanes

Grading Alabama’s performance against the Miami Hurricanes

Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide were able to handle the Miami Hurricanes Saturday inside of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, winning the contest 44-13.

Now it is time for our weekly report card for the Tide’s performance.

OFFENSE: A-

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

It’s hard to find much to complain about when it comes to the Alabama offense. Bryce Young and company were able to move the ball at will throughout the game.

Alabama passed for a totaled 510 yards of offense while picking up 28 first downs and scoring 44 points.

The run game was not dominant, but it was good enough. Miami ran a lot of run blitzes to help contain the Tide backs.

The makeshift offensive line held up pretty well for the most part, but they did allow a quick pressure that led to a strip-sack on QB Bryce Young. Other than that, the offense performed well considering all of the new starters that were making their debut.

DEFENSE: A+

Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

The 2021 Alabama defense entered this season with lofty expectations and they delivered. Miami QB D’Eriq King was under pressure the entire game and the Hurricanes could not muster anything on the ground averaging just 2.8 yards per rush.

The Alabama defense forced one fumble on King and intercepted him an additional two times.

The goal-line stand to start the second half was the icing on the cake for Alabama’s defense and set the tone for the last half of football.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A-

Gary Cosby-USA TODAY Sports

Will Reichard continues to come through for the Crimson Tide. Not only did Reichard connect on all five of his extra points, but he also connected on all three of his field-goal attempts, including a 51-yard attempt.

Alabama only had two opportunities to punt and averaged just 31-yards per punt.

OVERALL: A-

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Overall it was a great performance for the Alabama Crimson Tide to start the 2021 football season. Usually, the most improvement comes between week one and week two of the season, let’s see how the Tide builds off a dominating week one.

Stay tuned to Roll Tide Wire for all the latest on the Crimson Tide.

Alabama football: Will Reichard named to preseason watch list

Will Reichard getting the respect he deserves! 👀🔥

Alabama football is absolutely dominating the preseason award watch lists and earlier today they added to the list in junior placekicker Will Reichard.

Moments ago the Hoover, Ala. native was named to the Lou Groza Award Preseason Watch List.

Reichard is coming off a literal perfect season as a sophomore, going  84 for 84 on extra points while also connecting on all 14 field goal attempts.

Reichard scored more points than any other placekicker in the country last season with a total of 126 points scored and finished fifth overall regardless of position.

I think it would be a little unreasonable to believe that Reichard will be perfect again in his junior campaign, but he should still be right there with the top kickers in the country.

Stay connected to Roll Tide Wire for all the latest on the Crimson Tide!

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

CFB expert makes bizarre prediction for Will Reichard in national championship

Alabama football kicker Will Reichard has the opportunity to finish the 2020-2021 season with a perfect kicking record.

The 2020-2021 national championship between No. 1 Alabama and No. 3 Ohio State is a battle between two very strong offenses. With every touchdown comes an extra point, and with a fourth down in the red zone comes a potential field goal attempt.

For the Crimson Tide, their go-to guy is Will Reichard.

With a perfect season making all 90 attempts on kicks, the Alabama native is providing the answer to Alabama’s kicking woes over the last few years.

With only one game left between him and perfect finish, does he have it in him?

That very question was posed to David Kenyon, a college football expert at Bleacher Report, and others.

Kenyon’s answer was extremely interesting.

“Other than against Florida, Alabama hasn’t played a game within 15 points this season. That trend has allowed the Tide to keep their specialist out of the spotlight, which—as a former kicker myself—I know is completely ideal anyway.

I want to say the streak of perfection continues, but now my good pal Kerry has brought the dreaded announcer jinx on poor Will Reichard.

No, Kerry. I won’t allow it.

Let’s try this instead: Reichard will miss every attempt. It’ll be the worst game of his career, including a dreadful 22-yard shank in the fourth quarter as Alabama trails by two points. He’ll be remembered as the kicker who cost the Crimson Tide a national championship.

Is that enough of a counter-jinx? Kickers are people, too!”

Whether it’s a genuine prediction, or just some fun at Reichard’s expense, Alabama fans would certainly dread that scenario becoming reality.

Rose Bowl and CFP Semifinal: Fourth-Quarter Analysis

Most people who love to hate Notre Dame won’t admit it, but the Irish did as well as they could against Alabama.

Most people who love to hate Notre Dame won’t admit it, but the Irish did as well as they could against Alabama. The outcome for the Rose Bowl and College Football Playoff Semifinal was far from unexpected. One team simply had too much talent compared to not only this game’s opponent, but just about everyone else. So we saw Notre Dame’s memorable season come to an end with a 31-14 loss.

The Crimson Tide (12-0) approached the red zone in the early moments of the fourth quarter but couldn’t quite get there. Will Reichard salvaged the drive with a 41-yard field goal. Considering how most of this game went, it was a small victory for the Irish (10-2).

Ian Book returned after suffering an injury in the third quarter, and he led an impressive drive to give the Irish a chance at putting up another touchdown. He completed a pass to Michael Mayer in the end zone, but it was wiped by an illegal shift from Chris Tyree and George Takacs. Left with no choice but to try and get that touchdown back, Book had two chances to do so. Both of those failed on incomplete passes to Ben Skowronek and Avery Davis.

The Irish’s defense got a little pride when Jayson Ademilola and Adetokunbo Ogundeji sacked Mac Jones, who also was called for intentional grounding on the play. Since that happened on third down, it gave the offense another chance to put points on the board. Book led a pass-heavy drive and even got some help on an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from Nick Saban of all people. The drive ended in a 1-yard touchdown run from Book, so the senior can say he went out on a high note.

Surprisingly, that was not the Irish’s last time on offense. They recovered an onside kick, so Book and the other seniors on the unit got to see the field once more. If there wasn’t so little time left, another touchdown might have happened. There was just enough time for an incomplete pass towards the end zone, and that was it.

Que sera sera. That’s all that can be said. The debate on whether the Irish should have been allowed into the playoff will rage on. However, they were selected, and they had to come out and play despite the long odds.

WATCH: Mac Jones details rigorous training to become special teams star

Mac Jones is the unsung hero of special teams, as he is the holder for Alabama’s field goal units. The special teams created a hilarious…

Special teams is full of unsung heroes.

The longsnappers do their job and get off the field, the less publicity the better. The kickers are praised when they get it through the uprights and hated when they don’t. No one likes to see punters take the field, unless you’re a fan of the opposing team.

It’s time we recognize the hard work of one of the hardest positions on the field.

Games are won and lost on field goals and extra points.

Whether it’s an extra point to send it to overtime, or a 53-yard field goal to win it all, the kicking unit is the unrecognized backbone of a football team.

It takes three to make a ball go through the uprights: a longsnapper, a holder and a kicker.

Long snapper Thomas Fletcher was the highest ranked long snapper according to Rubio Long Snapping in the 2017 recruiting class and is currently a finalist for the 2020 Mannelly award for the nation’s best collegiate long snapper.

Kicker Will Reichard was the highest ranked kicker in the 2019 recruiting class. He is 69/69 on kicks for the 2020 season and is currently a finalist for the Lou Groza award for the nation’s best collegiate place kicker.

However, the third member of this squad was unranked, unrecognized, and wasn’t even recruited as a holder.

Holding stats? Good luck finding them.

In a position often forgotten about, Alabama holder Mac Jones has dedicated lots of training to make sure his position is put on the map.

Alabama football put together a short video of his workouts and testimonials from coaches and fellow teammates that details how hard he has worked at his craft.

It’s not everyday you get a holder this dedicated to the skill. So Mac, this is long overdue.

 

Alabama K Will Reichard named finalist for ‘Nation’s Best Place Kicker’

Will Reichard, Alabama K, is one of 20 finalists for the Lou Groza award, the award that recognizes the best place kicker in college foot…

Alabama sophomore place kicker Will Reichard has been named as one of 20 finalists for the Lou Groza award, which recognizes the nation’s top collegiate place kicker.

Reichard is perfect on kicks for the year through 69 total kicks through the uprights – 10 field goals and 59 extra points.

An Alabama kicker has never won the award, which began in 1992.

With one more regular season game, as well as a postseason that should see at least two more games, the Alabama-native will have pleny of time to add more onto his perfect resume on the year.

Reichard is not alone, the list of 19 others can be seen in the tweet below.

Alabama football countdown: 16 days until kickoff

We are 16 days from Alabama football kicking off its season on the road against the Missouri Tigers to start a 10-game, SEC only schedule.

There has been a lot of uncertainty surrounding college football over the last couple of months, but as of right now, the season still looks like it’s a go for the SEC, ACC and Big 12.

So, what does that mean? It means that we can continue the Countdown to Kickoff en route to the Crimson Tide — and the rest of the SEC — getting things underway on Sept. 26.

With it now being Sept. 10, we are officially 16 days away from the start!

Alabama currently has two players wearing the No. 16 for Alabama. Second-year kicker/punter Will Reichard continues to rock the number while true freshman outside linebacker Drew Sanders also wears it.

Reichard had an injury-riddled first season in Tuscaloosa, but there are still high expectations for the former top high school kicker out of Hoover.

Sanders, on the other hand, has come in as a five-star prospect and made a favorable impression on the coaching staff. It’s possible that he could see action in some sort of rotational role on Alabama’s defense as early as Week 1 against Missouri.

Will Reichard
Alabama placekicker Will Reichard (16) lines up to kick a field goal against New Mexico State at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday September 7, 2019. Mickey Welsh, Montgomery Advertiser

2020 Alabama football schedule

  • Sept. 26 at Missouri (Columbia, Mizz.)
  • Oct. 3 vs. Texas A&M (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
  • Oct. 10 at Ole Miss (Oxford, Miss.)
  • Oct. 17 vs. Georgia (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
  • Oct. 24 at Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.)
  • Oct. 31 vs. Miss State (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
  • Nov. 14 at LSU (Baton Rouge, La.)
  • No. 21 vs. Kentucky (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
  • Nov. 28 vs. Auburn (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
  • Dec. 5 at Arkansas (Fayetteville, Ark.)

Stay tuned for more updates from Roll Tide Wire, part of the USA TODAY Sports College Wire network!

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WATCH: Alabama K Will Reichard kicks monster field goal while training

Alabama kicker Will Reichard kick a field goal beyond the 50-yard line as he shows off his abilities after being injured early in 2019.

In 2019, Alabama’s freshman kicker Will Richard was supposed to join the Crimson Tide and help end all of the special teams woes the fanbase had.

Being an in-state recruit was nice, but being the nation’s best kicker in the 2019 recruiting class made it that much sweeter for Alabama.

Reichard battled through injury early in his freshman season, only playing in five games due to a reoccurring hip flexor inssue.

When he did play, Reichard hit 21 of 22 extra point attempts and knocked down four of seven field goal attempts.

The sophomore took to Twitter to post a video of him working with kicking coach James Wilhoit on kicking monster field goals from a distance Coach Saban likely wouldn’t think twice about punting from, which Reichard can also do as a specialist.

In the video, Reichard can be seen middling the uprights from well beyond the 50-yard line.

The Alabama kicking situation has been rough on the team in recent seasons, even coming close to costing the program championship No. 17 in 2017 against UGA. Can a healthy Reichard finally be the answer they were looking for?

Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on all things Alabama Football!

Alabama player snapshot: No. 16 Will Reichard

Sophomore kicker Will Reichard is the next man up on Alabama football’s player snapshot, which highlights each scholarship player.

As we continue through the offseason, Roll Tide Wire has decided to bring fans a quick snapshot of each scholarship player listed on Alabama’s 2020 football roster.

Each day, we’ll release anywhere from 2-4 player profiles giving fans a glimpse into the players who will be available this upcoming season. Whether that’s size, classification, hometowns or recruiting rankings coming out of high school, we’ve got you covered.

Also included in each article is a quick recap letting you know what to expect from that player for the upcoming 2020 season and beyond.

Next up on the list is sophomore kicker Will Reichard out of Hoover (Ala.).

Will Reichard, Kicker

Will Reichard
Alabama placekicker Will Reichard (16) lines up to kick a field goal against New Mexico State at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday September 7, 2019. Mickey Welsh, Montgomery Advertiser

Height: 6-1 / Weight: 180

Class: Sophomore

Hometown: Hoover (Ala.)

High School: Hoover High School

HS ranking (247Sports): 3-star / No. 1358 overall / No. 1 K / No. 49 ALA

HS ranking (Rivals): 3-star / N/A overall / No. 2 K / No. 52 ALA

Analysis: After being universally accepted as one of the top kicker prospects in the 2019 recruiting cycle, Will Reichard was a heavy favorite to come in a take hold of a starting job.

Unfortunately, the Hoover High School product suffered a hip injury early in the season, which sidelined the multi-dimensional player for the duration of 2019. He only participated in five contest while converting 4-of-7 field goals and 21-of-22 extra points.

Reichard also punted the ball four times for 152 total yards, which equates to 38 yards per punt.

Heading into 2020, he’ll continue to be involved in the battle for the starting place kicking position and for the job as the starting punter. Expect him, at the very least, to win one of those jobs, and don’t rule out the possibility of him winning both.

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