How JK Scott could save Alabama's kicking game
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — JK Scott stepped up calm and collected, taking his spot on the field during Alabama’s A-day game this spring. The senior punter had just missed a potential go-ahead kick for the White team moments earlier and was out to attempt the game-winner for the Crimson team with three seconds remaining.
Watch: Saban Press Conference from Thursday
After banging the ball just inside the left upright to give the Crimson team a 27-24 win, Scott didn’t run around crazily or even throw his hands up into the air in celebration. Instead, he just smiled, put his head down and let his teammates mob him with praise.
Asked after the game how it felt to be the hero, Scott shook his head and smiled. The Denver native will tell you that high-pressure situations like that are just part of the job.
Read: Alabama places 15 on preseason All-SEC team
Those who know Scott best have a different phrase.
“That’s just JK,” said Tom Thenell, Scott’s old coach at Mullen High School. “We used to kind of think of JK as one of those guys when you were small and you watched cartoons. He’d be the guy walking down an old country road and there are 65 people shooting at him, and he’s just walking down the street, none of them are hitting him and he doesn’t even notice they’re shooting.”
Alabama might be relying on Scott’s easygoing nature a little more often this season. Head coach Nick Saban didn’t fully commit to the idea of using a two-kicker system but did say Alabama "could conceivably do that” when asked about the idea Thursday night.
If Alabama was to go that direction, Saban said Scott would be "in the mix" to serve as the long-range kicker while freshman Joseph Bulovas and walk-on Andy Pappanastos would compete for the short-range role.
Scott, who finished fourth in the nation averaging 47.19 yards per punt last season, will still hold the role of punter and will most likely serve as the Crimson Tide’s kicker on kickoffs. Like most things, the new multifaceted role doesn't seem to be causing him stress.
“I’ll do whatever the coaches want me to do,” Scott said during the spring. “I can definitely see myself doing it. I like the busyness of it because one of the problems of being a punter is you have to be worried about being warmed up. If you’re kicking more, then you don’t have to worry about that problem as much.”
Don't miss: Breakdown of Alabama's running backs
The kicking aspect of Scott’s game is nothing new. The senior said he has taken reps at both kicker and on kickoffs during each of his three previous years with the team and did all three kicking roles during high school.
In fact, coming out of high school Thenell projected his big-legged star to be recruited more as a kicker than a punter. Due to a Colorado high school rule that states that a missed field goal that crosses the goal line results in a touchback, Thenell wasn’t shy to let Scott have a go at plenty of long attempts.
“Anytime we crossed the 50, we were going to have a shot at something,” Thenell said. “We marched him out for lots of them, man. That was his talent. He’s a talented dude.”
According to Thenell, Scott’s longest field goal in high school was from 57 yards out. Although, his range might be even farther than that. The head coach still remembers a near miss from 73 yards out during Scott’s senior season.
“The referees came in at halftime and they were laughing because they said it was only a yard or two short,” Thenell said. “He made field goals in high school over 50 yards a couple times.”
Of course, there’s a big difference between kicking in high school and kicking in college. For starters, high school kickers are allowed to kick off a tee where college kickers must kick off the ground. Then there’s always the noticeable difference between kicking in front of a couple thousand people compared to a packed SEC stadium of 100,000 or more.
Those pressure-packed challenges are bound to follow Scott into his new role. However, if previous situations are any indication, he’ll handle the adversity just fine.
Thenell recalls Scott’s first game as a punter during his junior year. Lining up for a punt against rival Valor Christian, the ball was snapped well over Scott’s head, sending it bouncing several yards down field as the 6-foot-6 punter lumbered after it.
“We didn’t know what the hell he was going to do,” Thenell said with a laugh. “He ran around, picked it up and punted it like 60 yards and pinned them back at the 10-yard line. He just turned around and bombed it.”
No matter what Scott does on the field he will also be counted on to contribute as a leader among the specialists. Not only did Alabama lose its starting kicker in Adam Griffith, it also lost a four-year starter in long snapper Cole Mazza. That leaves Scott by far the most experienced in a group which also includes fellow senior Pappanastos as well as freshmen Bulovas and long snapper Thomas Fletcher.
While kickers and punters generally don’t get much of an opportunity to lead the rest of the team, Thenell said Scott stood out as a role model more by what he did away from the field. A member of several clubs and organizations Scott led a Kairos retreat during high school.
During his senior season, the former three-star kicker was invited to participate in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl, which recognizes players for both their athletic and academic achievements. One of Themell’s favorite stories to tell of Scott comes from watching him on the sidelines during the bowl game in 2014.
Taking his normal relaxed approach, Scott chatted with a Marine Corps general on the sidelines. For a brief second, a rare moment of anxiety swept over his face as he glanced back out at the field. Realizing he was needed in action, Scott politely excused himself from the conversation before hurriedly gathering his helmet.
“He kind of looks at the general and goes, ‘I’ll be right back.’” Themell said. “Then he goes over and gets his helmet and bombs punt or something, comes back over puts his helmet down, stands and the same position and just keeps talking to the general. That’s just him.”
That's just JK, and it might be just the poise and confidence Alabama's kicking game needs.