Will Reichard became the NCAA FBS all-time scoring leader during his five seasons as Alabama’s kicker, so there are plenty of obvious reasons the Minnesota Vikings chose him in the sixth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday.
But one of the not-so-obvious ones was shared by Vikings college scout Steve Sabo: Reichard was a teammate, not just a kicker.
More stories on the NFL
“We had a couple of Alabama players come through on 30 visits,” Sabo said, “and so every time one came through, I’d make sure I’d peel off and say, ‘Hey, man, what do you think about Will?’ And at first they get kind of shocked, like ‘What’re you talking about?’ And then like, ‘Oh, my God. He’s like’ – I felt he was part of that team. He’s not an isolated player, where in some programs they’re isolated and maybe distant and maybe not necessarily connected to the team. And I never got that from the sources that I talked with at Alabama, the sources our other scouts talked to at Alabama and then (special-teams coordinator Matt) Daniels interviewing him through his processes as well.”
After Minnesota drafted him, Reichard said he knew of that setup with kickers, and it wasn’t for him.
“Kickers can be seen in that type of way to where they’re not connected to the team,” Reichard said, “and that’s not really something that I wanted to be. I wanted to be somebody who was super-connected to the team. Being a leader at Alabama helped me a lot because I could make connections with other players, root them on, be their biggest cheerleader when they’re on the field, so just making those connections to stay involved.
“And then I think as a kicker, too, everybody can see your work ethic, and just seeing how hard you work, I think they kind of have respect for guys who work hard at any position.”
Reichard will have two Alabama teammates with him in Minnesota. The Vikings chose linebacker Dallas Turner in the first round on Thursday night. In the fourth round on Saturday, Minnesota picked Oregon cornerback Khyree Jackson, who played for the Crimson Tide in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
RELATED: MINNESOTA WANTS DALLAS TURNER RUSHING THE PASSER AS HE GETS OFF THE PLANE
“It’s crazy that we’re going to be teammates again,” Reichard said of Turner. “It’s awesome. He’s a great player. I love him to death.
“And then Khyree, actually it’s kind of funny. We were really good friends at Alabama and then we saw each other again at the Senior Bowl and now we’re teammates again, so it’s awesome.”
Reichard had something else on his resume that none of the other available kickers did.
“Kicking for coach (Nick) Saban, that’s not an easy chore,” Sabo said, “and he handled that.”
Reichard said spending five years with Saban at Alabama had helped him reach his goal of being drafted.
“He demands a lot of competitiveness and great play for every position, not just quarterbacks and receivers,” Reichard said. “He demands that type of success from every position. But I’ve learned a lot from coach Saban, and I’m really happy that I went to Alabama. I feel like I really developed a lot as a player and as a person.”
Reichard joins John Parker Romo as the kickers on Minnesota’s roster. Romo signed with the Vikings on March 13. He’s been on the rosters of the New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears without appearing in a regular-season game.
Romo was the All-XFL kicker in the 2023 season, when he made 17-of-19 field-goal attempts, with a long of 57 yards, for the San Antonio Brahmas. The XFL did not kick extra points.
Greg Joseph has handled the Vikings’ kicking duties for the past three seasons. In 2023, Joseph made 24-of-30 field-goal attempts and 36-of-38 extra-point tries. But in March, he signed with the Green Bay Packers.
“Obviously, this is a guy who competed at the highest level, been a part of a championship program, five years doing it,” Daniels said of Reichard. “He’s had a lot of success there, faced a lot of adversity, come through in the biggest and highest of pressure situations. …
“All this guy has done is have success every step of the way.”
Because the Vikings had a large sample size for Reichard – five seasons at Alabama, the Reese’s Senior Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine – Minnesota did not conduct a private workout with the former Hoover High School standout.
“We didn’t do a private workout because we really wanted to stay under the radar in terms of who we were kind of keying and ID’ing as a particular guy that we wanted to bring in,” Daniels said. “It wasn’t a need for us to really bring him in to see him on a one-on-one basis.
“We spent two hours with this guy on a Zoom call, and it was much more important for us to truly get to know the individual of who Will Reichard is in terms of a mental standpoint and his growth mindset.”
Minnesota chose Reichard at No. 203. Six selections later, the Los Angeles Rams drafted Stanford kicker Joshua Karty, and three picks later, the Jacksonville Jaguars chose Arkansas kicker Cam Little.
“You’re always nervous,” Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said. “There’s a kicker run that’s going to happen, depends if it’s the fifth round, sixth round or seventh round. We were lucky enough to start it this time.
“Somebody with a great mentality. Really accurate kicker at the collegiate level. Obviously, played in a lot of big games at one of the best schools doing it, so really excited to add him.”
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.