re: How is bama flipping all these players?

It can't solely be on Nick Saban. Alabama has signed three very highly recruited kickers since 2007. At some point it's got to be on the special teams coordinator. Yes, it could be just bad evaluations on Alabama's part, but three times? Name another position where the Alabama staff has missed that often. Maybe it's just time to let Bobby Williams just coach TEs. I was a big advocate of getting Joe Robinson from UNC, but it looks like the defensive staff will remain together (Robinson also coached DE/LBs).

But back to kickers. If Adam Griffith doesn't pan out, like Foster seems to be heading, and Corey Smith did, then maybe Saban does have problems with fielding a solid kicking game. While we have Jeremy Shelley for one more season, he can't be counted on for anything beyond 40 yards.

Despite the kicking woes, I feel that punting has been solid for the most part. We don't have a guy that can flip the field on every attempt, but he's pretty consistent. Coverage is usually solid, but seems to have 1-2 big ones given up a year. Returns have been very good. We've been lucky to have Arenas and Maze the last few years. It will be interesting to see who takes over those roles.