Winding down our look at the 2026 Alabama Crimson Tide, we present an analysis of the special teams units.
As stated in previous articles in this series, in recent years, we’ve waited until fall camp began to take a look at the upcoming team, giving the coaches every possible second to finalize a pre-camp roster. This has led to content droughts, however, so we’ve chosen to break up the 2026 Alabama team preview into eight segments, following our traditional eight-category game previews.
This week, we are focusing on the kicking game, which is unique among the eight categories we preview. Unlike the others, there will be no ranking of the players against one another, simply a discussion of where the depth chart was at the end of spring practice and what fans can expect heading into fall with roster additions and subtractions. In addition, all players at the key positions – placekicker, punter, longsnapper and holder – will be discussed, whether they are on scholarship or not.
SPECIAL TEAMS (Rating: Vg)
Placekickers
Starter: Lorcan Quinn (So., 6-1, 196)
Analysis: A transfer from Marshall who originally hails from Ireland, Quinn was brought in to stabilize the placekicker position and add some accuracy to long-range kicks. He had a superb spring, routinely drilling long field goals and launching kickoffs out of the back of the end zone. This was a somewhat curious take in the transfer portal when it happened, because Conor Talty is still on the roster and wasn’t really a bad kicker in 2025. But Alabama appears to have made itself better at the position regardless.
Reserves: Conor Talty (Jr., 6-1, 201); Tucker Cornelius (So., 6-3, 208)
Analysis: Talty should be saluted for sticking around on campus and trying to save his job, but he was apparently passed by Quinn in the spring and it will probably take an injury to Quinn at this point to reverse the process. There’s a chance Talty could get the kickoff specialist role as a way of minimizing potential threat to Quinn’s health, as Talty developed into a very solid kickoff man over the last two seasons. We expect Talty to transfer after the season. That would leave walk-on Tucker Cornelius as the lone backup on the roster. He’s got decent accuracy but not overpowering leg strength, and Talty is a lot closer to Quinn than Cornelius is to Talty.
Punters
Starter: Adam Watford (Sr., 5-11, 188)
Analysis: Watford signed with North Alabama out of high school and developed from a solid prospect into one of the best punters at that level. He set school records for long punts and backed it up this spring by showing skills that were, at worst, on par with last year’s starter, Blake Doud, and at best, represent a significant upgrade. Alabama will only have him for one season, but Watford may have been the best punter in the portal, and it allows Alex Asparuhov to continue to rehabilitate what turned out to be a major leg injury.
Reserves: Alex Asparuhov (RFr., 6-3, 202); Anderson Green (So., 6-0, 201)
Analysis: Asparuhov was one of the top punters in the country his senior year in high school, but suffered an ugly leg injury prior to the start of competition for the job last year. His injury directly led to the addition of Blake Doud in 2025, and was a major reason for Alabama adding Adam Watford this year. Asparuhov is a long, strong-legged prospect who had a good spring and should be fully healed by this time next year. The addition of Watford will allow the process to play out on its own timetable. Third-stringer Anderson Green is significantly behind the other two players here, lacking the leg strength or the consistency.
Longsnappers
Competing: Ethan Stangle (Sr., 6-1, 219); Alex Rozier (Sr., 6-4, 215); Jay Williams (So., 6-0, 210)
Analysis: Either Stangle will do all the snapping this year, or split duties with Alex Rozier much the way David Bird did in 2025, when Rozier ended up snapping for most PATs and field goals. Stangle was signed out of the transfer portal, coming from Syracuse. Alabama thought it had fixed this position last year, when it pulled Bird from Cal, but Bird got into a memorable on-field spat with PK Conor Talty that ended up not looking good for anyone, yet did have an effect on the depth chart nonetheless. Rozier came back for an extra season to compete, and in the spring appeared to be right on Stangle’s tail, so it’s possible Rozier gets some percentage of the work in the fall. Jay Williams is behind the other two and looks to be noticeably smaller than even Stangle, who is small for a longsnapper himself. The real question is what’s going to happen in 2027, when both Stangle and Rozier exhaust their eligibility.
Holders
Competing: Adam Watford (P, Sr., 5-11, 188); Alex Asparuhov (P, RFr., 6-3, 202); Anderson Green (P, So., 6-0, 201)
Analysis: This is easy – it’s going to be a punter. Because punters and kickers work in their own groups in practice, the easiest way to identify a holder is to identify the punter who is best at it. Some teams like to use sure-handed receivers or a scout-team quarterback for the role just in case a fake field goal is needed, but Alabama will probably go the route most college and NFL teams are going now. This may be a way for Asparuhov to get some snaps in 2026, as he seemed to do a marginally better job of handling tough snaps in the spring, but honestly any of the three players listed here ought to be able to handle the job.
Punt/Kick Returners
Competing: Lotzeir Brooks (WR, So., 5-9, 193); Ryan Coleman-Williams (WR, Jr, 6-0, 182); Rico Scott (WR, So., 6-0, 198); Kevin Riley (RB, So., 5-11, 198), Akylin Dear (RB, RFr., 6-0, 214); Trae’shawn Brown (RB, Fr., 5-10, 201); Dijon Lee Jr. (CB, So., 6-4, 204); Zyan Gibson (CB, Fr., 6-0, 194)
Analysis: Want to know why Alabama is ranked “Very Good” and not “Excellent” in the special teams category? The kickoff return unit last year was among the worst in the country. Alabama was good on coverage teams and punt returns, but the kickoff return unit vexed the coaches all season long. With the turnover in personnel, Alabama is faced with having to expose its two top receivers (Ryan Coleman-Williams, Lotzeir Brooks) to the rigors of kick returning. Rico Scott has worked as a secondary kick returner, but to be honest, wasn’t all that good at it. Running back Kevin Riley would seem to be a natural fit, and fellow RBs Akylin Dear and Trae’shawn Brown seem to have the makeup. Cornerback Dijon Lee would seem to be Coleman-Williams’ primary competition at punt return, but we’re going to suggest folks not sleep on true freshman corner Zyan Gibson for either of these roles given his high school track background and instincts.
Follow Jess Nicholas on X at @TideFansJessN