Turns out there are two sides to Alabama's kicking situation.
There's the public side, one that saw sophomore Adam Griffith, Alabama's only scholarship placekicker, struggle in April's A-Day game. Then there is what Alabama coach Nick Saban has seen in the confines of fall camp, an accurate kicker who is on track to cement placekicking duties in 2014.
Aware of the criticism and question marks following Griffith around the past four months, Saban tried to put that uncertainty to rest on Thursday.
Adam Griffith has impressed UA coach Nick Saban through the early part of fall camp.
"(Adam) is doing really good," Saban said. "As long as he doesn't have the whole world evaluating every kick that he misses and the guy has to read the internet and, you know, go see the psychiatrist because he gets criticized for every kick that he misses I think he's got a chance. A really good chance."
Before Saban's comments on Thursday, the status of Alabama's placekicking job seemed much more fluid. That's because Griffith's last impression was a 1-for-3 day in the A-Day game that included a miss from 30 yards, a make from 41 yards and having a kick blocked from 47 yards. Griffith also missed an extra point in the waning seconds.
But there's been major progress. According to Saban, Griffith had not missed a field goal attempt in fall camp until Wednesday night's practice, meaning the sophomore was perfect through the first six practices this fall.
Griffith spent time working with kicking coach Marc Feuerbach in his hometown of Calhoun, Ga. this offseason. Feuerbach told the Tuscaloosa News this summer that Griffith was aware that he would have competition from walk-ons for the job this fall.
As far as evaluation for Saban, it is more complex than simply adding up makes and misses. Asked about how he measures up kickers outside of the obvious, he brought up the next-level variables like operation time - how much time it takes to get a kick off - to make sure kicks aren't blocked. He also mentioned the ability to kick directionally on kickoffs to help make the coverage unit more effective.
"Field goal kicking, to me, is about confidence and accuracy," Saban said.
So while the outside world is leery of how effective Alabama's placekicking will be, Saban is confident in Griffith.
"If he doesn't make the kick, we have to overcome whatever we have to do as a team so that it really doesn't matter. It's not all about that," Saban said. "We want to support him, we want to help him, we want him to do well, he wants to do well, he's working hard, we're encouraged by the progress that he's made."
- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1667574#sthash.iRvwVe8V.dpuf
There's the public side, one that saw sophomore Adam Griffith, Alabama's only scholarship placekicker, struggle in April's A-Day game. Then there is what Alabama coach Nick Saban has seen in the confines of fall camp, an accurate kicker who is on track to cement placekicking duties in 2014.
Aware of the criticism and question marks following Griffith around the past four months, Saban tried to put that uncertainty to rest on Thursday.
Adam Griffith has impressed UA coach Nick Saban through the early part of fall camp.
"(Adam) is doing really good," Saban said. "As long as he doesn't have the whole world evaluating every kick that he misses and the guy has to read the internet and, you know, go see the psychiatrist because he gets criticized for every kick that he misses I think he's got a chance. A really good chance."
Before Saban's comments on Thursday, the status of Alabama's placekicking job seemed much more fluid. That's because Griffith's last impression was a 1-for-3 day in the A-Day game that included a miss from 30 yards, a make from 41 yards and having a kick blocked from 47 yards. Griffith also missed an extra point in the waning seconds.
But there's been major progress. According to Saban, Griffith had not missed a field goal attempt in fall camp until Wednesday night's practice, meaning the sophomore was perfect through the first six practices this fall.
Griffith spent time working with kicking coach Marc Feuerbach in his hometown of Calhoun, Ga. this offseason. Feuerbach told the Tuscaloosa News this summer that Griffith was aware that he would have competition from walk-ons for the job this fall.
As far as evaluation for Saban, it is more complex than simply adding up makes and misses. Asked about how he measures up kickers outside of the obvious, he brought up the next-level variables like operation time - how much time it takes to get a kick off - to make sure kicks aren't blocked. He also mentioned the ability to kick directionally on kickoffs to help make the coverage unit more effective.
"Field goal kicking, to me, is about confidence and accuracy," Saban said.
So while the outside world is leery of how effective Alabama's placekicking will be, Saban is confident in Griffith.
"If he doesn't make the kick, we have to overcome whatever we have to do as a team so that it really doesn't matter. It's not all about that," Saban said. "We want to support him, we want to help him, we want him to do well, he wants to do well, he's working hard, we're encouraged by the progress that he's made."
- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1667574#sthash.iRvwVe8V.dpuf
