BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
What went wrong Saturday?
If there was a surprise in Alabama's opening-night performance, it came on special teams. JK Scott, perhaps the most consistent player a year ago, was off.
In four attempts, the sophomore averaged 36.8 yards to ranked 70th nationally among punters in Week 1. That's well off his freshman average of 48 that made him a Ray Guy Award finalist. None were downed inside Wisconsin's 20 as Alabama won 35-17.
On ABC's broadcast, analyst Kirk Herbstreit said Scott had struggled during the preseason.
Nick Saban didn't say that was necessarily the case Monday.
"I think that there's been a little inconsistency sometime in his drop, which was the problem with the poor kick on Saturday in that he dropped the ball on the outside," Saban said. "So when he drops it correctly and hits it with a nice, smooth pace he's pretty consistent and kicks it really, really well. We have a lot of confidence in him. He just has to get confidence back in his drop and he'll be fine."
Back in August, Scott explained his practice routine including a reference to his drop.
"You can't kick the whole time or you're going to kick your leg out, so you've got to find things to do that are going to utilize your time to benefit yourself where you're not just wasting time," he said. "That's the hard thing. I try to focus a lot on my drop, and then, when I go over to punt period, I'll do my punting."
Scott's first punt Saturday traveled 43 yards. The next one wasn't hit cleanly, but bounced for 46 yards ― his longest of the night.
The third attempt almost cost the Tide.
Just before halftime, Scott was deep in Alabama territory when he shanked one 20 yards into the Wisconsin sideline. The prime field position required just a 23-yard pass to put the Badgers in position for a 37-yard field goal. The half ended when Wisconsin's Rafael Gaglianone hit the upright to leave Alabama ahead 14-7.
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If there was a surprise in Alabama's opening-night performance, it came on special teams. JK Scott, perhaps the most consistent player a year ago, was off.
In four attempts, the sophomore averaged 36.8 yards to ranked 70th nationally among punters in Week 1. That's well off his freshman average of 48 that made him a Ray Guy Award finalist. None were downed inside Wisconsin's 20 as Alabama won 35-17.
On ABC's broadcast, analyst Kirk Herbstreit said Scott had struggled during the preseason.
Nick Saban didn't say that was necessarily the case Monday.
"I think that there's been a little inconsistency sometime in his drop, which was the problem with the poor kick on Saturday in that he dropped the ball on the outside," Saban said. "So when he drops it correctly and hits it with a nice, smooth pace he's pretty consistent and kicks it really, really well. We have a lot of confidence in him. He just has to get confidence back in his drop and he'll be fine."
Back in August, Scott explained his practice routine including a reference to his drop.
"You can't kick the whole time or you're going to kick your leg out, so you've got to find things to do that are going to utilize your time to benefit yourself where you're not just wasting time," he said. "That's the hard thing. I try to focus a lot on my drop, and then, when I go over to punt period, I'll do my punting."
Scott's first punt Saturday traveled 43 yards. The next one wasn't hit cleanly, but bounced for 46 yards ― his longest of the night.
The third attempt almost cost the Tide.
Just before halftime, Scott was deep in Alabama territory when he shanked one 20 yards into the Wisconsin sideline. The prime field position required just a 23-yard pass to put the Badgers in position for a 37-yard field goal. The half ended when Wisconsin's Rafael Gaglianone hit the upright to leave Alabama ahead 14-7.
Continue reading...
