The kicking game continues to be a sore subject for Crimson Tide fans.
Alabama has missed eight extra-point attempts. That’s more than all other Southeastern Conference teams combined. Ten of them are still perfect. Ole Miss, South Carolina and Missouri combine for four botched kicks.
“We’ve had some issues in that regard, no doubt,” UA coach Nick Saban said. “I think at times we’ve got to improve in all areas – snap, hold, consistency in kick.
“To me, being a kicker is … a lot like playing golf. You have to technically be able to count on three to four benchmarks of things that are going to help you be consistent with what you do and minimize bad contact.”
Alabama has Joseph Bulovas as its placekicker, Mac Jones as its holder and Thomas Fletcher as its snapper.
Bulovas is 56 of 61 on PATs. Austin Jones, who kicked at the start of the season, went 8 of 11.
“We have not gotten Joe to where we’re comfortable and he’s comfortable with that,” Saban said. “We’re going to keep working on it, no doubt, but it’s not really acceptable to me, to be honest with you, from anyone’s standpoint – his standpoint, our standpoint. And we’re going to work really, really hard to get it fixed. If there’s someone else on our team that we feel can do it better, the possibility exists that we’ll do that, whether it’s snapper, holder or kicker.”
Quick updates
Saban said on Wednesday’s SEC teleconference running back Damien Harris cleared his concussion protocol and is back practicing. Without setback, he should be OK to play Saturday against Auburn.
Offensive linemen Deonte Brown (turf toe) and Alex Leatherwood (twisted ankle) are “day-to-day” but Saban is “optimistic they’re both making progress” since they also have returned to practice.
