2025 Alabama Crimson Tide Position Preview: Special Teams

There is an adage in football that special teams make special teams. For Alabama, an overhaul among the various special teams positions is in order after the 2024 season. Kicker Graham Nicholson, punter James Burnip and long snapper Kneeland Hibbett all graduated.

Redshirt sophomore Conor Talty has been waiting in the wings for his chance as Alabama's primary placekicker. He watched as Nicholson and Will Reichard handled those duties over the course of the last two seasons.

"Talty has done a really nice job, how he's really from last year taken on the role and dove into it," head coach Kalen DeBoer said Wednesday after the first day of fall camp. "He was solid the different times we had him out there doing his thing."

DeBoer added that the punting unit, which has two new faces (Alex Asparuhov and former Division II All-American Blake Doud) competing for the starting job, is "the most open" on special teams. The Crimson Tide also added a new long snapper from a Power Four school, former Cal player David Bird.

Special teams is not an area where top-flight teams want to be lacking. A missed or blocked field goal, a blocked or shanked punt, an errant snap and more can derail games and affect outcomes on a dime. Too many of those mistakes can turn a playoff contender into a multi-loss team even if it plays well in the other two phases.

Projected Depth Chart

P: Blake Doud/Alex Asparuhov
PK: Conor Talty
SN: David Bird

2025 Alabama Special Teamers

Alex Asparuhov, P- Freshman, 6-3, 200 lbs

One half of a competition for the punting job in the fall, Asparuhov has impressed DeBoer with his physical progress. He's a newcomer from California, where he was rated as a three-star punting prospect by multiple outlets.

Blake Doud, P- Redshirt senior, 6-5, 205 lbs

At Colorado School of Mines, Doud averaged 46.6 yards per punt last season to lead Division II players. The reigning RMAC Special Teams Player of the Year and multi-time Division II All-American redshirted in 2021, affording himself the chance to play for the Crimson Tide. He and Asparuhov will vie for the starting job in fall camp.

Anderson Green, P- Sophomore, 6-0, 205 lbs

Green is from Tuscaloosa, graduating from Northridge High School in 2024. During his freshman campaign, he did not play in any regular season games. DeBoer mentioned Green on Wednesday as someone who has done well as a holder.

Conor Talty, PK- Redshirt sophomore, 6-1, 195 lbs

Talty is the likely 2025 starter at kicker and replacement for Nicholson, who spent one season at Alabama last fall after winning the Lou Groza Award at Miami (Ohio). Talty, the Crimson Tide's kickoff specialist last season, has not attempted a field goal in a game despite being 4-for-4 on extra points.

Peter Notaro, PK- Freshman, 5-11, 188 lbs

Notaro is listed as a placekicker on the team's online roster, but he can also punt. He is a product of North Allegheny High School in Pennsylvania. Notaro's commitment graphic, which he posted last summer on social media, shows an edit of him in an Alabama uniform kicking rather than punting.

Reid Schuback, PK- Redshirt senior, 6-0, 215 lbs

In Alabama's home defeat of Mercer last November, Schuback converted a point-after attempt for his first collegiate score. He has been in the program since the 2021 season, but the Mercer game was his Crimson Tide debut.

Tucker Cornelius, PK- Sophomore, 6-3, 195 lbs

Cornelius is a former Northridge teammate of Green's; both arrived on campus in 2024, keeping the Jaguars' former special teams tandem together in college. He also did not play last season as a freshman.

David Bird, SN- Junior, 6-0, 205 lbs

A Cal transfer and Arizona native, Bird traveled east for his junior year. He brings 25 games of previous experience to Tuscaloosa as the replacement for Hibbett. Bird was one of the best snapping prospects in the country in the 2023 class and has not made a bad snap during a game yet.

Jay Williams, SN- Sophomore, 6-0, 195 lbs

In his first season at Alabama last year, Williams appeared in two games. He played against Mercer and Western Kentucky, getting to take the field against a team that hails from his home state (Mercer is in Macon, Ga.).

Alex Rozier, SN- Senior, 6-4, 205 lbs

Rozier entered one game last season, making his college debut in the opener against Western Kentucky. Though originally from Hattiesburg, Miss., Rozier attended high school at Oak Grove in Alabama.

This is the ninth story in BamaCentral's summer position previews series.

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