TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Kalen DeBoer took part of his opening statement Monday to single out a player he called a “game-changer” for Alabama so far this season.

It wasn’t quarterback Jalen Milroe, who has 14 total touchdowns, or freshman receiver Ryan Wiliams, who is averaging 28.5 yards per catch. DeBoer didn’t praise linebacker Jihaad Campbell’s team-high 28 tackles or edge rusher Que Robinson’s trio of sacks either.

Instead, he gushed over his punter.

“I want to highlight also just how James Burnip's been doing kicking the football,” DeBoer said. “He's a game-changer. He can flip the field really on any kick. We saw that again on Saturday. Just proud of the way he goes about it. He's just quiet, but man, when he hits the ball, it makes a noise. I mean that in a lot of ways. So it's fun seeing him do his thing at a high level.”

Burnip earned player of the week honors from Alabama coaches after averaging 49.2 yards on five punts during the Tide’s 42-10 win at Wisconsin. Two of those boots traveled over 50 yards and four of them pinned the Badgers inside the 20-yard line.

Through three games, Burnip is averaging 47.43 yards on 14 punts. He’s hung those up high enough to limit Alabama’s opponents to 4 yards on one return. He’s also dropped eight of them inside the 20-yard line.

“He's rock solid,” DeBoer said. “James puts everything into it. All his energy and power into that kick. Technically it was just so sound, so consistent. He's been that way all fall camp and we got a lot of trust in him and it's something our whole team, when he goes out there, they believe in him.

“He's a weapon to have, and like you said, it flips the script and now the defense with a little more field space to work with can set the tone, especially when you get into those backed-up situations.”

For the first time in three games, Alabama called its reigning Lou Groza Award winner into action for a field-goal attempt. Unfortunately for the Tide, Miami-Ohio transfer Graham Nicholson didn’t make the best first impression, slicing a 46-yard attempt to the right of the goalpost on Alabama’s opening possession against Wisconsin.

“I think he hit it good,” DeBoer said of Nicholson’s miss. “In pregame I think we felt like maybe there was a little bit of a breeze coming right to left, probably overcalculated that and it wasn't something where I felt like, where we all felt like he mishit it or anything. We've just got to do a better job of understanding the [wind] direction or how much it's going to influence the kick.”

DeBoer isn’t too worried about Nicholson. The senior has connected on all 19 of his extra-point attempts this season. Last year, he was named the nation’s top kicker after knocking in 27 of 28 field goals, including an NCAA single-season record of 25 straight makes.

As far as this past week’s miss is concerned, Alabama doesn’t expect to see too many of those moving forward.

“I know he expects to make that,” DeBoer said. “We expect him to make it. He's been solid all fall camp.”

The trip to Wisconsin saw another special teams debut, as freshman receiver Ryan Williams carried over his playmaking ability to punt return duties with a 20-yard return. Williams, who has lived up to his “Hollywood” nickname this season, would be a dangerous punt-returning option for the Tide.

However, DeBoer hinted that his lone return had more to do with getting a rep in the role than it does with a switch in duties. Alabama’s primary punt returner, redshirt freshman receiver Cole Adams, missed the game against Wisconsin with an arm injury. Freshman cornerback Jaylen Mbakwe has served as his replacement.

“Bak’s been back there doing a good job with his opportunities, and we need to continue to build that,” DeBoer said when asked about using Williams as a punt returner. “And just getting Ryan one rep out there, I thought was good. He did a nice job. Looked very comfortable back there. There's some other guys, like Germie Bernard can do that as well. He's been working on, not just this year but in the past. We just want to make sure guys continue to get that one rep, feel comfortable.”