You’ll be able to now box a complete soccer workforce of Alabama avid gamers coached via Nick Saban who’ve been picked within the NFL Draft.
Getting into Saturday’s 3rd day of the 2024 NFL Draft, a kicker was once the one place from Saban’s tenure that hadn’t observed a participant picked via an NFL workforce. That streak ended within the 6th around, when the Minnesota Vikings took Alabama’s Will Reichard with pick out No. 203.
Reichard evolved into the most efficient kicker Saban ever had in his time with the Purple Tide. When you would possibly query the price of a workforce drafting a kicker, Reichard was once extraordinarily dependable and ended his profession because the highest-scoring participant ever with 547 issues.
Reichard set that document via taking part in 5 seasons with the Tide on account of the additional yr of eligibility granted to avid gamers by way of the COVID-19 pandemic. Reichard performed in handiest 5 video games as a freshman because of harm and was once the workforce’s full-time beginning kicker for the previous two seasons. Over his final two years at Alabama, he was once 119 of 119 on additional issues and was once 44 of 51 on box targets.
If you happen to’re a school soccer die-hard, you’ll perceive why an Alabama kicker hadn’t been drafted till Saturday. The kicking sport had all the time been an Achilles heel of types for the Tide and a overlooked kick in a large sport wasn’t a marvel.
Reichard wasn’t the final Alabama participant drafted Saturday, alternatively. That honor went to defensive again Jaylen Key. He was once the 257th and ultimate pick out within the draft and was once this yr’s Mr. Beside the point.
General, Alabama had 10 avid gamers drafted after Saban’s ultimate season with the Purple Tide. Offensive take on JC Latham was once the primary Purple Tide participant off the board at No. 7 to the Tennessee Titans and the Tide had 3 first-round choices as edge rusher Dallas Turner and defensive again Terrion Arnold have been additionally decided on Thursday.
Arnold turned into the forty seventh and ultimate first-round pick out of the Saban period at Alabama. The primary was once offensive take on Andre Smith in 2009 earlier than Alabama produced 10 first-round choices over the following 3 drafts. In general, 133 Alabama avid gamers coached via Saban were drafted since 2009, and that general will develop over the following couple of drafts.
With Reichard formally off the board, right here’s a listing of the primary Saban-era Alabama avid gamers drafted at each and every place from 2009 to 2024. It contains punter JK Scott and lengthy snapper Thomas Fletcher.