Alabama kicker Conor Talty had made 15 straight field goal attempts dating back to last season heading into Saturday's 31-20 win over Texas A&M . That streak was snapped when Talty missed a 36-yard field goal on the Crimson Tide's second offensive possession.
Talty made his next attempt in the game from 47 yards out, but then had another miss from 42 yards in the third quarter.
"I know he's disappointed, and he's been through it," Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said during Wednesday's SEC coaches teleconference. "You know, he's not perfect in practice through eight weeks and fall camp, too. So there's a response every day in practice, and a confidence that gets built and knowing what your mindset has to be to respond. Obviously that's on another level when you're in the game. Each kick is it's own kick, so you can't sit there and think about what you did right or wrong. You've just got to go trust and believe that you have the skillset and just get your mind int he right place and be confident to go kick the next one."
It is highly unusual for kickers at any level, from high school to the NFL, to be perfect on kicks for an entire season. Misses are inevitable, so a kicker's response is crucial.
Talty has been one of the most consistent players for the Crimson Tide this season after an up-and-down junior season in 2025. Alabama brought in Marshall transfer Lorcan Quinn from the portal this offseason to compete for the starting job, but Talty ultimately won for the placekicking position. Quinn has been used to handle kickoffs.
Overall, Talty is 11-for-13 on the season and still perfect on 48 extra point attempts. Strengthening his mental game was a big part of his offseason work to get to the position he is now.
Since Alabama is on its bye week, the Crimson Tide did not practice on Tuesday like it normally does, but DeBoer liked what he saw from Talty during Wednesday morning's practice.
"I saw him in practice today go out there and execute all his kicks and thought he looked really good," DeBoer said.
No. 10 Alabama (6-2, 4-2 SEC) is heading into an environment next week at No. 15 LSU (6-2, 3-2 SEC) in Death Valley that has tripped up some Crimson Tide kickers in the past. It will be an important test for Talty to see if he can get back on track.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/alabama as How Conor Talty Has Responded to First Missed Kicks of Season .
