re: Bama Football Tidings

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Something happened during Alabama’s second preseason scrimmage that only happened that once during the Crimson Tide’s fall scrimmages.

Will Reichard missed a field goal.

That’s been a rarity at Alabama dating back to the spring.

Reichard, the top-ranked kicker in this year’s recruiting class according to the 247Sports Composite, has been as advertised thus far for the Tide.

After going 4 for 4 on field goals during Alabama’s first preseason scrimmage, the freshman from Hoover had just the one miss during the second scrimmage and bounced back from that one off-target kick by making a field goal that came immediately following the miss.

“Will’s a very talented guy and he’s done extremely well in fall camp, and we think that he can do a good job,” Tide coach Nick Saban said. “But like any other guy, he’s got the talent and ability to do it, but what’s he going to do in a game? We’re confident in him. He gets the ball off quickly. He’s got a really strong leg. His accuracy in scrimmages and practice has been very good.”

Reichard could be Alabama’s long-awaited answer at kicker — and he could end up handling the Tide’s other two kicking jobs as well.

In addition to being the field goal kicker, Reichard is set to handle kickoffs and has also been competing with sophomore Skyler DeLong for Alabama’s punting job.

Both will punt against Duke on Saturday, according to Saban.

“He’s also a very good punter,” Saban said of Reichard. “Skyler has really improved a lot in his punting, and those two guys are probably pretty close as to who would do that. We haven’t had a guy for a long time that actually punted, kicked off and kicked field goals. The issue is not having the talent to do all those things but how do you manage a guy through the season where he doesn’t kick himself out because he’s doing so many different things.”

At the very least, Reichard will be the kicker — and the team seems hopeful he could provide stability at a position that has been an issue for much of the Saban era at Alabama.

“The feedback I’ve gotten is that he’s doing fantastic and that he’s light-years ahead of where he needs to be as a true freshman and that he’s just ready for the job,” said Chris Sailer, a kicking specialist and trainer who has worked with Reichard since he was in the sixth grade. “He’s living up to the hype. Everything we talked about with that staff is absolutely coming true as far as his abilities, both mentally and physically. The kid’s just ready.

“Sometimes no news is good news. A lot of times when we put true freshmen into that kind of situation, we hear from the coaches like, ‘Hey man, you gave us this guy and he’s struggling.’ But that hasn’t come from camp there. Everything, whenever I talk to someone, it’s, ‘He’s doing great, man. He’s going to be great for us.’”

It’s been 10 years since an Alabama kicker made at least 80 percent of his field goals while attempting more than 11 kicks for the year.

While Joseph Bulovas was 14 for 18 on field goals last season (77.8 percent), he missed six extra points.

Now though, the team will turn to Reichard.

Reichard connected on his only field goal attempt during the Tide’s spring game in April, a 43-yarder.

He then pulled away from Bulovas in the competition for the kicking job during fall camp.

The hope for Alabama is that Reichard will be as good and consistent in actual games as he was in those two preseason scrimmages.

“He’s handled it well,” said Josh Niblett, Reichard’s high school coach. “He’s not going to be a guy that puts the cart before the horse. He knows how he got there and how hard he worked to get to that moment and he’s going to continue to work hard.”

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Alabama will head to Atlanta on Friday before starting the 2019 campaign with the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama football wrapped up its work week in Tuscaloosa on Thursday afternoon with a two-hour practice in shells inside the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility.

The Thursday session was Alabama's final workout in Tuscaloosa before the team heads to Atlanta, Ga., to square off with Duke in the 2019 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. The two teams will meet inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 31, with things set for a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff. Fans can catch all the action on ABC with the trio of Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Todd McShay calling the action from the booth while Molly McGrath works the sidelines.

No Photo Gallery for today

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It is one of few areas on Alabama’s depth chart that has a slash on it. (really?)

The slash (/) means the competition is still going and at punter, Nick Saban has not made a decision on either Skyler DeLong or Will Reichard. Both guys have been competing for the starting job all offseason and per Saban, it was Reichard that pushed everyone to improve.

Despite his struggles last season and getting benched for Mike Bernier, DeLong appeared to have made strides on A-Day. The sophomore averaged 47.5 yards per attempt; however, the level of consistency went back down at the open practice.

Whether it is distance or getting the proper hang time, DeLong has had issues with striking the ball in the right spots.

As for Reichard, the three-star was rated as the top combination punter/kicker at the Kohl’s Kicking Competition.

He was regarded as the nation’s top kicker and No. 2 punter in the 2019 recruiting class, and he told Justin Smith of Touchdown Alabama Magazine that his goal was winning the kicking job at Alabama and ending the woes from that aspect of the game.

He accomplished that in fall camp, but he now will a chance to punt too.

During the first airing of Saban’s “Hey Coach” show on Thursday, he said both Reichard and DeLong will punt against Duke. With this being stated, whomever shows the most consistency in squeezing the returners of the Blue Devils and flipping field position will win the job.

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Five predictions for No. 2 Alabama's matchup with Duke in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (Saturday, 2:30 p.m. CT/ABC).

Duke running backs Deon Jackson and Brittain Brown will combine for 25 or more touches

With a healthy Dylan Moses at middle linebacker for Alabama, I might have lowered the touch total for Jackson/Brown a tad. Regardless, this one was going to make the five even before the Moses news broke earlier in the week.

With Moses out -- and UA expected to field a pair of true freshmen at the inside linebacker spots (and another at nose tackle) -- Duke's offensive staff has even more incentive to emphasize a couple of running backs who rank among the top duos in the Atlantic Coast Conference. There's also the potential for quarterback runs Saturday, with Quentin Harris looking to build on the 10 rushing touchdowns Daniel Jones produced over the two previous seasons.

Duke's usage of tight ends -- and the assortment of formations and motions that might number somewhere in the neighborhood of what the Human Jukebox of Southern University employs during a halftime performance -- will give Christian Harris and Shane Lee something else to consider as well.

With multiple backs and tight ends in play, expect to see a good bit of Harris and Lee out there together in the base and nickel packages. While the on-the-job training the duo receive in this one could prove painful at times, the long-term benefit could prove massive.

Perhaps there will be a role for either Jaylen Moody or Ale Kaho or Markail Benton in the game. Considering how much time is being spent on getting Harris and Lee up to speed, though, getting more than the freshmen ready may be asking a bit much of Pete Golding, who, in addition to his duties as inside linebackers coach, has an entire defense to coordinate and call.

Ultimately, how long this game remains competitive will likely be tied directly to how long the Duke offense can lean on Jackson, who also has kickoff return experience, and Brown.

Tua Tagovailoa will pass for three or more touchdowns

In his first appearance at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Tagovailoa hit for the trifecta in a half and overtime possession of work. The second go round wasn't quite as memorable, as Tagovailoa incurred injuries and a pair of interceptions before Jalen Hurts brought the Crimson Tide back to beat Georgia in the fourth quarter.

Healthy and armed with four elite wide receivers, Tagovailoa is ready to pick up where he left off during the 2018 regular season, when he passed for three or more scores in eight of his 15 starts. In two career games in Atlanta, Tagovailoa tossed touchdown passes to Henry Ruggs III, Devonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle. On his third visit, chances are good he'll hookup with Jeudy, who was on the receiving end of a game-tying scoring strike from Hurts last December.

A new offensive coordinator and three new offensive linemen will be among the storylines for Alabama Saturday. Awaiting Tagovailoa and his mates is a Duke defense that, despite being without its top defensive back -- corner Mark Gilbert (hip) -- for much of the 2018 season and into this one, ranked fourth against the pass in the ACC year ago.

In the end, though, expect the numbers for Tagovailoa and his top targets to look a lot like they did a year ago.

The Crimson Tide will employ no fewer than eight defensive linemen in the game

If not for the questionable statuses of Justin Eboigbe (foot) and Stephon Wynn (ankle), I probably would have put this number at 10. Instead, assuming they're all available, I'll go with Dale, Raekwon Davis, LaBryan Ray, Phidarian Mathis, Tevita Musika, Byron Young and Christian Barmore. Beyond those seven, here's guessing that between Ishmael Sopsher, Braylen Ingraham and Antonio Alfano, one of them makes it eight.

From a big picture standpoint, I'll be interested to see who joins Davis in providing the kind of interior pass rush that UA has gotten from more than one guy in recent years. From an immediate standpoint, I don't expect Duke will conceded the run game after a series or two. The freshman triangle of Dale, Harris and Lee will need to give the Blue Devils a reason to do so before pass rush packages can take effect.

More true freshmen will see the field for UA in this opener than last year’s

Eleven true freshmen saw action for Alabama in last year’s thumping of Louisville. On Monday, 17 trues showed up on the Week 1 depth chart released by UA.

Areas where you can expect to see the most newcomers on Saturday: offensive line (grad transfer Landon Dickerson qualifies as a newcomer to go along with Evan Neal, right?), defensive line, linebacker and [drum roll] placekicker/punter/special teams.

Other than Harris and Lee, there will be more attention paid to Will Reichard than any other UA freshman that sees the field against Duke. For all his talents as a kicker and field-flipping punter, the Hoover Howitzer will be viewed with a skeptical eye by more than a few Alabama fans until game production becomes a real thing.

Obviously, how the game plays out will impact the total number here. Where it could get particularly interesting is on defense -- and not just at linebacker. There are starters and two-deep options at all three levels on that side of the football.

Alabama will win the game by a score of 45-13

Given how things unfolded in Santa Clara in January, you’ll probably hear a lot about the “The Clemson Plan” in advance of Alabama games this season. For Duke, that formula will have as much to do with its own meeting with the Tigers last season than the Crimson Tide’s.

The Blue Devils managed to keep things close for a half at Death Valley last November, leading 6-0 after a quarter before trailing 14-6 at intermission. Duke did it by holding on to the ball (Jackson, Brown and Jones combined to produce 70 rushing yards on 16 carries), converting four third down situations (while keeping the Tigers conversion free in the first 30 minutes) on the way to winning time of possession by nearly seven full minutes in the first half.

Clemson went on to stretch things out in the second half and win, 35-6, but the game was a recent example of how Saturday's 33-point underdog maintained contact with a national championship-caliber program for more than just a series or two.

You know what else helps? Being well-coached across the board. That's Duke football under David Cutcliffe. Seriously, if we did the ol' chicken sandwich challenge and you got a taste of what the Blue Devils were in 2018 and what Alabama's 2019 season-opening opponent -- USC -- was that same season, the more palatable of the two might come as a surprise.

Duke was an 8-5 team a year ago. USC went 5-7. Helmet stickers aside, I might be convinced to take Duke over the Trojans on a neutral field tomorrow.

It won't be SC on the other sideline Saturday, though. And while Duke's "Clemson Plan" might keep it around for a half, the Blue Devils won't have enough roster to push this one much more beyond that.

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