Alabama placekicker Will Reichard has been named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza award, given annually to the nation’s top placekicker. Twenty semifinalists were named and the group will be narrowed down to a small batch of finalists on November 28th before the winner is announced on December 8th.
Reichard has been ‘Mr. Reliable’ for Alabama throughout his Crimson Tide career. Electing to come back for his 5th year of eligibility, he has been one of the most important players on the team.
He holds the SEC record for both kicking and career points, and just this past Saturday became the NCAA kicking points leader in history (he is third all time among all players).
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Reichard sits just 28 points shy of the all time NCAA scoring record with 502 points, trailing only former Louisiana Tech running back Kenneth Dixon (522) and former Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds (530 points).
Reichard ranks third on Alabama’s career field goal’s list and first all-time in made PATs with 77 and 271, respectively.
Before his two missed field goals against LSU on Saturday, he had not missed a single kick all season. In Alabama’s 2020 national championship run, Reichard was perfect, converting all 14 of his field goal attempts and all 84 of his PATs.
Reichard will look to remain steady and reliable as the Crimson Tide try to make a playoff push down the stretch of the 2023 season.
Auburn’s Alex McPherson is also a semifinalist. McPherson ranks No. 1 in the country with a 100% field goal accuracy, having converted on all nine attempts this season. The redshirt freshman from Fort Payne is also 29-for-29 on PATs for a total of 56 points scored.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP
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