TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — James Burnip was just as surprised as the rest of us. The Alabama punter/holder wasn’t tipped off on graduate kicker Will Reichard’s change-of-heart decision in January to return to the Crimson Tide for a final season. That only made the news even more exciting.

“I was over in California with a couple of my buddies road-tripping up the coast and I went on Instagram,” Burnip said Thursday. “He didn’t tell me, and then I was reading and I just saw the declaration. It said he’s coming back, and I smiled and gave him a call straight away.”

Like everyone else on Alabama’s roster, Burnip is happy to have Reichard’s robotic leg back on field-goal attempts for another season.

However, the return also maintains an essential partnership for the Crimson Tide.

Chemistry gets thrown around a lot during preseason camp. Quarterbacks need to be on the same page as their receivers while also being comfortable taking snaps from whoever is at center. The same familiarity is necessary on the offensive line as all five starters need to be able to move lockstep during blocks. On top of needing to know the defense well enough to relay calls to his fellow defenders, Alabama’s MIKE linebacker must have a strong relationship with his deputy at the WILL linebacker position.

Meanwhile, the most important bond on special teams often gets overlooked.

It might seem like a simple exchange, but the partnership between the holder and kicker can decide games. Reichard seems automatic at times, but who knows if the kicker would have nailed his game-winning field goal against Texas last season had Burnip not lined up the ball just the way he liked it.

Fortunately for Alabama, it won’t have to worry about that this year as the duo enters their third season working together.

“You have to be able to trust your holder,” Reichard said Thursday of his relationship with Burnip. “Without your snapper and your holder, you can’t do your job. That’s something we’ve worked a lot on. Every kicker likes their ball leaned differently or tilted differently.

“James knows how I like it and he does it at a very high level. I think we have a really good operation. We’ve gotten better from each year I’ve been here.”

Burnip held the ball for all 90 of Reichard’s kicks last season as the kicker went 22 of 26 (84.6%) on field-goal attempts while making each of his 64 extra-point tries. By now, the punter can execute his kicker’s preferences in his sleep. However, after joining the team as a former Australian rules football player in 2021, perfecting the exchange wasn’t as easy as it looked.

“It took me a little while my first year,” Burnip said. “When I got here, they taught me down holding with every kicker, so every kick is different, as he said. So getting with Will and having Will manage as my kicker has been good, just being able to figure out where he wants the ball, how he wants it tilted towards me. It didn’t take me long once that was my focus.”

As for everything else that goes into field goals and extra points, Burnip says he generally lets Reichard do his thing. There isn’t a last-second pep talk or vote of confidence in the huddle before big kicks. Just a silent acknowledgment preceded by Alabama’s most underrated bond.

“We always just dab each other up and then I’ll get down into my hold,” Burnip said. “We’re just always trying to have fun with it, do our job the best we can and get out of there and score some points for the team.”