The Minnesota Vikings selected two Alabama players during the NFL Draft last month. They drafted linebacker Dallas Turner in the first round and kicker Will Reichard in the sixth round. While touring the media as a first-round pick, Turner was requested to provide a scouting report on Reichard during an interview on “The Paul Allen Show” on KFAN-FM in Minneapolis.
“They got a cold-blooded sniper,” Turner explained. “That’s the man, Will Reichard. Will has been my kicker since I was in college, and that is all I know. Will is clearly cold-blooded. He always shows up when you need him.”
Reichard remarked on Monday that Turner had the proper idea about his kicking strategy. “The mentality that I have personally is an assassin’s mentality,” Reichard stated. I strive to be extremely focused. You only have one shot, so adopt a one-shot, one-kill attitude. Reichard scored an NCAA record 547 points in five seasons at Alabama, converting 84 of 100 field-goal attempts and 295 of 297 extra-point attempts.
“I think it just goes back to the work that you put in,” Reichard remarked. “You simply attempt to rely on your preparations. As a kicker, you’ve done a thousand kicks over the years, and you’ve probably hit that kick from the same exact location hundreds of times, so you’re just trying to rely on your technique, your muscle memory, and go out there and do what you know how to do.
