Alabama Kicker Graham Nicholson Remembering Nothing's Changed Despite Bigger Environment

Miami (OH) home stadium holds 30,000. A fraction of the people expected in Bryant-Denny Stadium this Saturday to see Nicholson kick.

Graham Nicholson / Alabama Athletics

The Crimson Tide is three days away from kicking off the season against Western Kentucky on Saban Field in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Most of the preseason attention has been on quarterback Jalen Milroe and his fit in new head coach Kalen DeBoer's offensive system or how the Alabama transfers would fit in new defensive coordinator Kane Wommack defensive plan. Very little has been made about the third phase of the game, special teams.

Is its being overlooked due to the nature of special teams, or is is it because the Crimson Tide, despite losing the NCAA's all time leader in points in the offseason, has one of the strongest groups of specialists in the country?

"It's been a fun group. They've probably taught me as much as I've taught them. You know, having guys who've played a lot at a high level," said Alabama special teams coach Jay Nunez. "First time I've had three guys as far as kicker, punter, snapper who have done it at a high level, kind of competing with each other, leading each other. So it's been really fun watching those guys come together as a group and continue to excel at the craft."

Alabama enters the year with three upperclassmen in graduate senior punter James Burnip, senior Graham Nicholson and senior Kneeland Hibbett making up the core of the Crimson Tide special teams. Fans are familiar with Burnip and Hibbett as they've been playing in Tuscaloosa for years, but Nicholson presents a strange face in a position that's been filled by fan favorite Will Reichard for years. How will Nicholson perform on Saturday kicking in the high stakes SEC?

"It's kind of cool because I was at Eastern Michigan, I played against him not long ago. So for him and the maturity that he has of realizing for kickers, it's different," said Nunez. "The football is 13 pounds. It is, what it is. A little different shape depending on what the quarterback likes, but for the most part it's the same thing, uprights are the same. So him having that maturity of like he's made big kicks, he's been in the moment, and his understanding of nothing's changed. There's a few more people in the stands. Keeping that mindset of, 'Hey I've been there, I've done it' has been fun to watch."

He's proven perfect in Power 4 stadiums in his college career, making five field goals and three extra points. Nicholson's first two games are in the friendly confines of Bryant-Denny Stadium making the live opportunities important to build early confidence for the 2023 Lou Groza Award winner.

Graham Nicholson Kicking in Power 4 Stadiums

• Freshman at Minnesota: 2/2 Field Goals, 2/2 Extra Points.
• Sophomore at Kentucky: 2/2 Field Goals. 1/1 Extra Points.
• Junior at Miami: 1/1 Field Goals