Livescore
Alabama has landed the nation’s top kicker through the NCAA transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio)’s Graham Nicholson, who won the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best kicker last season, announced Sunday evening on X he is transferring to Alabama. Ohio State was also reported to be in contention for Nicholson, who is a Cincinnati native and a first-team Associated Press All-American last season.
Nicholson will replace Will Reichard, who is headed to the NFL draft after finishing last season as a finalist for the Groza Award but falling short to Nicholson.
Nicholson, who has one season of eligibility remaining, entered the transfer portal in December before withdrawing and re-entering the portal Friday. He is the Tide’s first transfer portal addition of the spring portal window (April 16-30) and ninth scholarship player to transfer to Alabama this offseason. Alabama has yet to lose a scholarship player to the portal during the spring window.
The addition of Nicholson clouds the future of Conor Talty, who signed with Alabama in December 2022 as the Tide’s first scholarship kicker since Reichard was part of the 2019 high school class. Talty, from Chicago, was expected to take over for Reichard last season before Reichard decided to return for a fifth season. Talty appeared in four games as a freshman, making one extra point and kicking off six times while redshirting.
Talty remained Alabama’s only scholarship kicker this spring but was part of what coach Kalen DeBoer termed an “open competition” at kicker after Alabama’s second scrimmage April 6. Talty shared kicking duties in Alabama’s spring game with three returning walk-ons in Upton Bellenfant, Reid Schuback and Reed Harradine, with Talty missing his only A-Day field-goal attempt, from 46 yards. Harradine entered the transfer portal this week.
Kicker was considered one of Alabama’s top needs through the transfer portal this spring, with DeBoer publicly citing defensive back and offensive line as areas where Alabama needed to bolster its numbers.
Nicholson made 27 of 28 field goals last season as a junior, missing only a 48-yard attempt in the MAC championship game against Toledo. Nicholson’s 96.4% conversion rate ranked third in the country among kickers with at least one attempt per game, and he converted 35 of his 37 extra points. Nicholson was named a first-team All-American by the AP, Sporting News, AFCA and Walter Camp, and a second-team All-American by the FWAA. He also won MAC special teams player of the year and was first-team All-MAC.
Reichard, who was a finalist for the Groza in 2020 and 2023, is CBS Sports’ fourth-ranked kicker in the 2024 NFL draft. If Reichard is drafted this week, he would become Alabama’s first kicker drafted since David Ray in 1966.
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