Should a place kicker be part of the Heisman conversation? Probably not. Quite simply, they don’t play enough to be seen as contributors on the gridiron. Yet the irony is that they’re some of the highest scoring players for their schools in the programs history. A current example of this that’s keeping that trend alive is Alabama place kicker Will Reichard.
In his senior season, Reichard is currently 25-25 on PAT’s and 15 out of 15 on field goals through eight games, including a long of 51 yards. Earlier this year, Reichard became the SEC’s all-time leader in points scored with 496.
Reichard was set to enter the NFL draft after his junior season, but opted to return to the Tide for his senior year to increase his value in the kickoff department. Despite always being elite at field goals, kickoffs are another essential skill to make yourself marketable at a place kicker in the NFL. In turn, this benefited the Tide who returned an elite player.
If Reichard’s stats projected out through a full twelve games this year, he finish the seasons 38 of 38 with PAT’s and 23 out of 23 in field goals. This is inarguably the best player on the Tide, despite not being on the field for every play.
Alabama’s Best Player: Place Kicker Will Reichard
Although a place kicker may never be in the Heisman conversation, a perfect season (or even near it) would put Reichard squarely in the conversation for the Lou Groza award which is awarded to the nation’s top place kicker each year. Despite his historic career at Alabama, the Groza has eluded Reichard in his first three seasons. The biggest snub would be in 2020 when Reichard went 84 out of 84 on PAT’s and 14 out of 14 on field goal attempts. Due to his low number of field goal attempts however, the award went to Miami’s Jose Borregales, which was controversial as Borregales was far from perfect stat-wise that season.
This season would leave nothing to doubt if Reichard continues on his path as he already has 15 field goals made with four games to play. With a far less productive offense than in 2020, Reichard has seen more opportunities to knock it through the uprights, and he’s made true on it.
Whether he wins the Groza, finishes the season perfect or anything else, what remains certain is that Will Reichard is an elite player for the Tide and is the team’s true MVP.