Conor Talty and Lorcan Quinn Still Battling For Alabama Place Kicking Duties

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama football endured a tumultuous 2025 season on special teams, culminating with kicker Conor Talty going viral by berating a teammate after a missed kick. The senior converted nearly 70-percent of his field goals, but critical misses left the fans and coaching staff looking for more out of the third phase.

"My mistake was, I made it public, and I’m ashamed of that," Talty said speaking to the media Tuesday at Rose Bowl media day. "That’s something that obviously I should not do on a national stage like that. No matter how frustrated I am, at least wait until the locker room or let a coach handle it. And the coaches do handle it."

The Crimson Tide dipped into the transfer portal and selected Lorcan Quinn to come to Tuscaloosa from Marshall to challenge Talty for the starting kicking job in 2026. The former rugby player earned All-Sun Belt honors, made 21-of-26 of his field goals, made 38-of-39 extra points, and even made a season-long 55-yard field goal for the Marshall Thundering Herd last year.

Quinn made a strong first impression, making multiple field goals during Alabama's A-Day spring game, while Talty missed his only attempt. However, the Alabama kicking competition is far from over, despite what happened last year or even in the spring.

"I think both of them are very, very talented," Kalen DeBoer said after Alabama's second scrimmage. "I think Conor's built a lot of momentum through the offseason, especially since the summer. Lorcan, you can see what he's got as far as leg strength, whether it's field goals, kickoffs, and just maturity. He responds and battles back. There's going to be adversity. You're not going to be perfect as a kicker, so a lot of it is what does it look like the next kick? What's your response going to be? So it's a strong competition right now. It's a battle, and I mean that in a good way because they're both kicking very well."

Talty finished the 2025 season making his final five field goals, including three in the College Football Playoffs. He and Quinn enter the 2026 season in a tight race to take the kicking job, but the experience and talent that each possesses, along with the adversity they've faced, puts Alabama in a strong position at place kicker.

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