Alabama Lands Graduate Transfer Kicker Austin Jones from Temple
Alabama will be getting some help in its kicking game for next season in the form of a graduate transfer.
Temple kicker Austin Jones announced on Monday that he would finish his college career with the Crimson Tide after visiting campus.
Jones brings a solid leg to Tuscaloosa and has a chance to win the starting job in 2018. He'll compete with freshman Joseph Bulovas for the vacancy left behind by Andy Pappanastos.
During his four years at Temple, Jones made 50 of 67 field goal attempts (75%). If you take away his freshman season, Jones made over 80% of his attempts the past three seasons. He eventually lost the starting job after suffering an ACL injury during the 2016 campaign.
As good as Alabama has been through the Nick Saban era, inconsistent place kicking has plagued the Crimson Tide at times. Most recently, Pappanastos missed a 36-yard kick as time expired that would have beaten Georgia for the national championship. Alabama overcame that miss - like it has most times - and went on to win the game in overtime.