Alabama
A voter's guide to the Alabama 2nd Congressional District primaries • Alabama Reflector
Voters in Alabama’s redrawn 2nd Congressional District will choose nominees for the seat on Tuesday, and they don’t lack options.
Eighteen candidates — 11 Democrats and seven Republicans — are running in the new district, which runs through the southern part of Alabama’s Black Belt, and takes in Montgomery and northern Mobile County.
The district emerged out of a lawsuit over congressional maps approved by the Alabama Legislature in 2021. Plaintiffs argued in a federal lawsuit that the maps unconstitutionally packed Black voters into a single district, making it harder for them to meaningfully participate in the political process. A federal court in 2022 agreed, citing the intense racial polarization of voting in Alabama, where white voters tend to support Republicans and Black voters tend to support Democrats.
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The court ordered a second “opportunity” district drawn. After some delays, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the lower court ruling last June.
The Republican-controlled Alabama Legislature the following month approved a map that the federal court rejected amid sharp criticism of lawmakers not following their guidance. The court approved a new map drawn by a “special master” last October. The new 2nd Congressional District has a Black Voting Age Population (BVAP) of 49%.
The 2nd Congressional District is expected to lean Democratic in November, but that has not dissuaded GOP candidates from entering the race. Below, a guide to the candidates. Attempts to reach Larry Darnell Simpson, a Democratic candidate for the office, were unsuccessful.
Democratic candidates
James Averhart
Age: 55
Residence: Mobile
Occupation: Nonprofit owner; executive director, Alabama NAACP State Conference, retired Marine Corps service member
Education: B.A., Criminal Justice, American Military University, 2003; M.A, Security Management, American Military University, 2009; Ph.D. Theology and Biblical Studies, North Carolina College of Theology and Seminary, 2012; Ph.D. candidate, Organizational Management and Leadership, University of Arizona Global Campus, 2024.
Party: Democratic
Previous political experience/campaign: Democratic nominee, Alabama 1st Congressional District, 2020.
Read the full profile.
James Averhart wants to take his knowledge of the district and his experience as a former military police officer to reshape the direction of people living in the 2nd Congressional District.
Averhart, citing his experience overseeing several military prison facilities while serving with the U.S. Marine Corps, wants to implement criminal justice reforms. He has been critical of racial disparities in sentencing and the violence taking place within the state’s prison system.
Averhart also wants to use Congress’ budget powers to increase oversight of court and law enforcement interactions with the broader community.
Napoleon Bracy
Age: 46
Residence: Prichard
Occupation: Manager, Diversity & Inclusion, Austal, USA.
Education: B.A., Sociology and Social Welfare, Dillard University, 2000
Party: Democratic
Previous political experience/campaign: Alabama state representative, 2010-present; Prichard City Council, 2003-09.
Read the full profile.
Napoleon Bracy said he wants to leverage his experience in local and state politics to make life better for residents who he said have been traditionally ignored by their congressional representatives.
For Bracy that starts creating jobs and recruiting industries into the area. He wants to recruit major industries to the area as well as provide training.
Bracy also said he would work to improve health care access for veterans and would work to bring Medicaid expansion to Alabama.
Merika Coleman
Age: 50
Residence: Pleasant Grove and rental home in Montgomery
Occupation: Lawyer; Professor and Director of the Center of Economic and Social Justice, Miles College
Education: B.A., Communications, University of Alabama Birmingham, 1995; Masters of Public Administration, University of Alabama Birmingham, 1997; J.D., Birmingham School of Law, 2017.
Party: Democratic
Previous political experience/campaign: Alabama state representative, 2002-22; Alabama state senator, 2022-present.
Read the full profile.
Sen. Merika Coleman said her experience in Alabama state government means constituents would get someone “that is ready to serve on day one” in Congress. She has spent months touring the district, and said that voters had cited many issues, including crime, housing, education and public health.
To address those concerns, Coleman said she would work to bring federal resources to the district, and plans to connect with local leaders and agency heads to best find resources for those in the area.
Coleman also said she would do what she can to get the state to expand Medicaid and work to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
Anthony Daniels
Age: 41
Residence: Huntsville
Occupation: Business owner; former teacher
Education: B.S., Elementary and Early Childhood Education, Alabama A&M University, 2005; M.S., Special Education, Alabama A&M University, 2010.
Party: Democratic
Previous political experience/campaign: Alabama House of Representatives, 2014-present; Alabama House Minority Leader, 2017-present.
Read the full profile.
Rep. Anthony Daniels emphasized the need for experienced leadership in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, and said he was able to pass meaningful legislation in a Republican-dominated government, citing “The Game Plan” economic legislation and tax exemptions for overtime work. Daniels said he could accomplish even more where Democrats have more power.
With the recent redistricting decision, placing more Black voters in the district, Daniels said he was committed to equitable representation and leveraging federal resources for local military bases.
To address healthcare challenges, particularly in rural areas, Daniels said he’d advocate for Medicaid expansion and increased funding in the district, leveraging grants to support health-related organizations. He also emphasized the importance of collaboration at the state level to ensure implementation.
Shomari Figures
Age: 38
Residence: Mobile
Occupation: Lawyer
Education: B.A., Criminal Justice and History, University of Alabama, 2006; J.D., University of Alabama School of Law, 2010.
Party: Democratic
Previous political experience/campaign: First time candidate.
Read the full profile.
Shomari Figures said he brings valuable experience from his time in the federal government, working with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. Figures aims to prioritize issues like health care access and education, advocating for Medicaid expansion and better teacher benefits.
Figures emphasized leveraging federal resources for state issues, like Medicaid expansion, while also addressing local concerns such as improving school infrastructure and teacher compensation.
Born into a prominent Mobile political family, he said he would be committed to the district. Figures rejected other candidates’ promises to move into the district if elected, calling it “transactional” leadership.
Juandalynn Givan
Age: 53
Residence: Birmingham
Occupation: Attorney; consultant; operator of mentoring program
Education: B.A., Political and social science, Miles College, 1992; J.D., Miles School of Law, 1996
Party: Democratic
Previous political experience/ campaign: Alabama state representative, 2010-present.
Read the full profile.
Rep. Juandalynn Givan said she wants to be a voice for marginalized people in the 2nd Congressional District, and said her experience in the Alabama Statehouse and in the administration of former Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr. could be an asset to voters.
If elected, Givan said she would support a higher minimum wage, a clean slate bill, abortion rights and more single-family housing. She also said that she wants to fight for more democracy and criticized efforts to minimize Black history.
Givan also said she would work to secure funding for the district, particularly for schools and the expansion of health care.
Jeremy Gray
Age: 38
Residence: Opelika
Occupation: Nonprofit founder of Curtis House, business owner, Elevate Your Grind, Inc., author
Education: B.S., Sports Management, North Carolina State University, 2008; M.B.A., Auburn University, 2022
Party: Democratic
Previous political experience/ campaign: Alabama state representative, 2018-present.
Read the full profile.
Rep. Jeremy Gray said he doesn’t want to go into Congress “with an agenda,” but he does have priorities. On top of that list is job creation, which he wants to accomplish through active recruitment and improving schools.
Gray also said that rural areas need infrastructure, healthcare, investment in education and jobs with living wages.
Improving health care and quality of life in the district are also priorities. The representative said he would look at adjusting federal funding formulas to bring more money to public schools in the district. He also wants to find ways to use federal dollars to encourage Alabama to expand Medicaid.
Phyllis Harvey-Hall
Age: 60
Residence: Montgomery
Occupation: Education consultant
Education: B.S., Elementary education, Alabama State University, 1988; M.S, Elementary education, Troy University, 1997; M.S., Education Administration, 2007, Auburn University Montgomery; Ed.S, Education specialist, Auburn University Montgomery, 2012.
Party: Democratic
Previous political experience/campaign: Democratic nominee, Alabama 2nd Congressional District, 2022; Democratic nominee, Alabama 2nd Congressional District, 2020; Candidate, Montgomery City Council, 2019; Candidate, Montgomery County Board of Education, 2016; Candidate, Montgomery City Council, 2015.
Read the full profile.
A former educator in Montgomery Public schools before becoming a prevention educator for Family Sunshine Center, a domestic violence shelter, Phyllis Harvey-Hall plans to make education a focus of her work in office, creating a better pipeline for teachers to enter the profession.
She wants to increase wages while creating other incentives, such as increasing paid leave — all to increase the quality of teachers in the profession to increase the quality of education for students.
Harvey-Hall also said she would work to expand Medicaid; support abortion rights and criminal justice reform and work to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
Willie Lenard
Age: 78
Residence: Pike Road
Occupation: Retired business executive
Education: B.S., business administration, Tuskegee University, 1976; M.A., personnel management, Webster University, M.A., 1999; M.A., computer information systems, Webster University, 2001.
Party: Democratic
Previous political experience/campaign: Democratic candidate for Montgomery County Sheriff, 2022 (did not qualify due to 2020 law requiring sheriff to be certified law enforcement officer for three years).
Read the full profile.
Willie Lenard emphasized the need for a strong voice representing the concerns of the district.
Lenard aims to address issues such as gun violence and disparities affecting Black communities.
Lenard also advocated for diverse representation in decision-making, aiming to challenge what he sees as deep-rooted power structures. He highlights the importance of addressing systemic issues and, if elected, said he would use his background to help marginalized communities.
Vimel Patel
Age: 39
Residence: Troy
Occupation: Hotel operator, real estate broker
Education: B.A., Political Science, Auburn University, 2007.
Party: Democratic
Previous political Experience/campaign: Democratic candidate for Alabama 2nd Congressional District, 2022.
Read the full profile.
Vimal Patel said his business background would help him represent the district effectively. He aims to bridge political divides, stressing his ability to foster consensus.
Patel said he wants to prioritize engaging constituents across the ideological spectrum. Patel said he’d work on issues like credit reform and consumer protection, stressing the importance of practical solutions and its impact on vulnerable populations.
Patel, who has a background in hospitality, said his entrepreneurial mindset would be an asset to the district. He said his approach would include listening to constituents and seeking input from diverse voices, from both moderate and conservative voters.
Republican candidates
Greg Albritton
Age: 71
Residence: Atmore
Occupation: Retired naval officer, former practicing attorney
Education: B.S., Business Administration & Finance, Weber State University, 1981; J.D, Jones School of Law, 1995.
Party: Republican
Previous political experience/campaign: Alabama state representative, 2002-2006; Republican nominee for Alabama Senate, 2009; Alabama senator, 2014-present.
Read the full profile.
Sen. Greg Albritton said he believes the federal government needs to take a new approach to its finances, or as he puts it, stopping “the printing and the spending.” He believes his time in the Legislature, particularly as the chair of the Senate’s General Fund budget committee.
Albritton also sees the district needing more resources for mental health services, and methods to address declining population.
To attract people to the district, he wants to focus on infrastructure spending, especially roads. He also wants to expand broadband and expand utilities, such as sewer systems to parts of the district that need it.
Dick Brewbaker
Age: 63
Residence: Pike Road
Occupation: President, Brewbaker Motors
Education: B.S., Economics and U.S. History, Vanderbilt University, 1983.
Party: Republican
Previous political experience/campaign: Alabama House of Representatives, 2002-2006; Alabama Senate, 2010-2018.
Read the full profile.
Former Sen. Dick Brewbaker, R-Pike Road, said he believes the federal government is veering off track. He believes current federal policies keep individuals from reaching their potential and wants an environment where people can raise their families without government interference.
Expressing concerns about increasing federal spending, Brewbaker said inflation is a pressing issue affecting families, attributing it to rising transportation and energy costs. As a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2nd Congressional District, he advocated for fiscal responsibility amid economic challenges facing Americans.
Brewbaker also voiced skepticism towards climate change policies and advocated for stricter border security measures.
Caroleene Dobson
Age: 37
Residence: Montgomery
Occupation: Real estate attorney
Education: A.B., History and Literature, Harvard College, 2009; J.D., Baylor University School of Law, 2012.
Party: Republican
Previous political experience/campaign: First-time candidate.
Read the full profile.
Real estate attorney Caroleene Dobson said there is an urgent need to address the situation on the U.S.-Mexico border, saying that the current influx of migrants is unsustainable. Dobson said she wants a comprehensive overhaul of the system.
Despite the district’s expected Democratic leanings, Dobson believes Republicans can succeed by effectively communicating their message of governmental reform and self-sufficiency.
A proponent for energy independence and critic of federal regulations, Dobson said it’s important to leverage domestic resources, including non-renewable, for economic growth. She argued that addressing regulatory burdens on agriculture is crucial for supporting food producers and the economy.
Karla DuPriest
Age: 62
Residence: Mobile
Occupation: Accountant, Life Insurance Agent, Business owner/Operator-Chris & Carla’s Heavenly Ribs & Catering
Education: B.S., Accounting, University of Arkansas, 1988.
Party: Republican
Previous political experience/campaign: Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, 2022; Candidate, Mobile City Council, 2023.
Read the full profile.
DuPriest said her experience running a catering business has helped her understand the needs of the community.
The candidate said that low workforce participation, persistent unemployment and a declining population are major issues for the district, along with broadband access, housing and stagnant manufacturing.
To address these problems, DuPriest wants to encourage the formation of small businesses by cutting regulations and taxes. The candidate believes that small business creation will lead to improvements in education and many other areas.
Hampton Harris
Age: 27
Residence: Lowndesboro
Occupation: Real estate brokage owner and attorney
Education: B.S., Economics, Auburn University at Montgomery, 2018; J.D., Cumberland School of Law, Samford University, 2023.
Party: Republican
Previous political experience/campaign: First time candidate.
Read the full profile.
Hampton Harris, real estate broker and attorney from Lowndesboro, said he is running for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District to prevent a Democratic candidate from winning. Harris said he wants to ensure Christian conservatives’ voices are represented in government.
Harris sees an opportunity for Republicans to prevail, citing shifting demographics and uncertainties about voter preferences. The Cook Political Report suggests President Biden would have carried the district by 12 points in 2020 under the new congressional lines, but Harris believes the recent changes made this race unpredictable.
Harris said he will advocate for veterans’ rights, protect gun access, and champion anti-abortion policies.
Stacy Shepperson
Age: 52
Residence: Saraland
Occupation: instructor, Bishop State Community College; president of Alabama Providence Community Housing Development Organization
Education: B.S., Math education, Alabama A&M, 1993; M.Ed., Math Education, Alabama State University 1997; J.D., Southern University Law Center, 2000.
Party: Republican
Previous political experience/campaign: First run for public office
Read the full profile.
Stacy Shepperson is running on a platform called HEAL (for housing, economic engagement, advocacy and leadership) and said the new district needs to be repaired after years of litigation over the representation of Black voters in the district.
The candidate said that housing is a major issue, and she wants to look into grants and funding for housing. Shepperson wants to do the same for blighted areas of the urban communities in the district.
Shepperson said she wants to work with small business owners. She also said that it’s important that students are trained in skills with real-world applications.
Belinda Thomas
Age: 59
Residence: Newton
Occupation: Business owner, farmer, founder of Alabamboo, Inc, founder of nonprofit Joyful F.A.R.M.S., Southeast Nonprofit Housing
Education: Medical assistant certification from University of Alabama Birmingham, 1991
Party: Republican
Previous political experience/campaign: Member, Newton City Council, 2020-present
Read the full profile.
Belinda Thomas said she sees the district’s three highest priorities as economics, schools and health care. Thomas said she would work to expand the economy in the district, which she believes would create more money for schools and help expand infrastructure.
During hearings over the redrawing of the 2nd Congressional District boundaries last summer, Thomas urged the lawmakers to keep Montgomery and the Wiregrass areas together, as they had been under a previous map. The Republican-controlled body initially tried to do so, but the resulting map created a Black Voting Age Population of 38%, well below what a federal court deemed acceptable.
Thomas said she supported current 2nd Congressional District Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, who was moved to the 1st Congressional District under the new maps. Thomas said that losing Moore as her representative led her to “step up and show what true leadership is all about.”
Abe Bonowitz of Death Penalty Action leads a demonstration outside the Capitol in Montgomery, Ala., on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, against a scheduled execution in Alabama using nitrogen gas.
Kim Chandler/AP
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Kim Chandler/AP
ATMORE, Ala. — An Alabama man convicted in the 1994 killing of a hitchhiker cursed at the prison warden and made obscene gestures with his hands shortly before he was put to death Thursday evening in the nation’s third execution using nitrogen gas.
Carey Dale Grayson, 50, was executed at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in southern Alabama. He was one of four teenagers convicted of killing Vickie DeBlieux, 37, as she hitchhiked through the state on the way to her mother’s home in Louisiana. The woman was attacked, beaten and thrown off a cliff.
Alabama began using nitrogen gas earlier this year to carry out some executions. The method involves placing a respirator gas mask over the face to replace breathable air with pure nitrogen gas, causing death by lack of oxygen.
Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Q. Hamm said the nitrogen flowed for 15 minutes and an electrocardiogram showed Grayson no longer had a heartbeat about 10 minutes after the gas began flowing.
Like two others previously executed by nitrogen, Grayson shook at times before taking a periodic series of gasping breaths.
The victim’s daughter told reporters afterward that her mother had her future stolen from her. But she also spoke out against the decision to execute Grayson and “murdering inmates under the guise of justice.”
The curtains to the execution room were opened shortly after 6 p.m. Strapped to a gurney with a blue-rimmed gas mask on his face, Grayson responded with an obscenity when the warden asked if he had any final words. Prison officials turned off the microphone. Grayson appeared to speak toward the witness room where state officials were present, but his words could not be heard. He raised both middle fingers at the start of the execution.
It was unclear when the gas began flowing. Grayson rocked his head, shook and pulled against the gurney restraints. He clenched his fist and appeared to struggle to try to gesture again. His sheet-wrapped legs lifted off the gurney into the air at 6:14 p.m. He took a periodic series of more than a dozen gasping breaths for several minutes. He appeared to stop breathing at 6:21 p.m., and then the curtains to the viewing room were closed at 6:27 p.m.
Grayson was pronounced dead at 6:33 p.m.
DeBlieux’s mutilated body was found at the bottom of a bluff near Odenville, Alabama, on Feb. 26, 1994. She was hitchhiking from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to her mother’s home in West Monroe, Louisiana, when the four teens offered her a ride. Prosecutors said the teens took her to a wooded area and attacked and beat her. They returned to mutilate her body.
A medical examiner testified that her face was so fractured that she was identified by an earlier X-ray of her spine. Investigators said the teens were identified as suspects after one of them showed a friend one of DeBlieux’s severed fingers and boasted about the killing.
DeBlieux’s daughter Jodi Haley spoke with reporters at the media center on prison property after the execution. Haley was 12 when her mother was killed, She said her mother had her life and future stolen from her.
“She was unique. She was spontaneous. She was wild. She was funny. She was gorgeous to boot,” Haley said of her mother.
She said Grayson was abused in every possible way in his youth but “society failed this man as a child, and my family suffered because of it.”
“Murdering inmates under the guise of justice needs to stop,” she said, adding that “no one should have the right to take a person’s possibilities, days, and life.”
Gov. Kay Ivey said afterward she was praying for the victim’s loved ones to find closure and healing.
“Some thirty years ago, Vicki DeBlieux’s journey to her mother’s house and ultimately, her life, were horrifically cut short because of Carey Grayson and three other men,” Ivey said in a statement. “She sensed something was wrong, attempted to escape, but instead, was brutally tortured and murdered.”
Grayson’s crimes “were heinous, unimaginable, without an ounce of regard for human life and just unexplainably mean. An execution by nitrogen hypoxia (bears) no comparison to the death and dismemberment Ms. DeBlieux experienced,” she added.
Grayson was the only one of the four teenagers who faced a death sentence since the other teens were under 18 at the time of the killing. Grayson was 19.
The execution was carried out hours after the U.S. Supreme Court turned down Grayson’s request for a stay. His final appeals had focused on a call for more scrutiny of the nitrogen gas method. His lawyers argued the execution method causes “conscious suffocation” and that the first two nitrogen executions did not result in swift unconsciousness and death as the state had promised.
Hamm said he thought some of Grayson’s initial movements were “all show” but maintained other movements exhibited by Grayson and the two others executed by nitrogen gas were expected involuntary movements, including the breathing at the end.
No state other than Alabama has used nitrogen hypoxia to carry out a death sentence. In 2018, Alabama became the third state — along with Oklahoma and Mississippi — to authorize the use of nitrogen gas to execute prisoners.
On June 12, it was announced that the Alabama men’s basketball team would be competing in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas during Thanksgiving week this coming basketball season. The Players Era Festival is the first-ever NIL-based multi-team event for college basketball.
No. 8 Alabama joins No. 7 Houston, No. 24 Rutgers, Notre Dame, San Diego State, No. 14 Creighton, Oregon and No. 23 Texas A&M as the schools participating in the inaugural event. Each team will play two games and the head-to-head record, point differential, points scored and points allowed will all be factored in creating the seeding for a seventh place, fifth place, third place and of course championship game.
Total NIL Activities and Compensation:
The Crimson Tide’s two initial games will be against Houston on Nov. 26 and then Rutgers on Nov. 27.
Who: No. 8 Alabama (4-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. No. 7 Houston (2-1, 0-0 Big 12)
Who: No. 8 Alabama (3-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. No. 24 Rutgers (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
When vs. Houston: Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. CT.
When vs. Rutgers: Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 10 p.m. CT
Where (Both Games): MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nev.
Radio (Both Games): Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Bryan Passink). The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.
TV (Both Games): TBS
Series vs. Houston: Tied 3-3 with the first matchup occurring on Dec. 28, 1956
Series vs. Rutgers: 0-0
Last meeting with Houston: The Crimson Tide outlasted Houston with a 71-65 victory. Future No. 2 overall NBA Draft pick Brandon Miller went 0-of-8 from the field, but future No. 21 overall pick Brandon Clowney saved the day with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting while also recording team-highs in rebounds (11) and blocks (2).
Last meeting with Rutgers: Never
Last time out, Alabama: Following its first loss of the season on the road against then-No. 13 Purdue, the Crimson Tide brushed it off against No. 25 Illinois on Wednesday night by defeating the Fighting Illini 100-87. Preseason All-American point guard Mark Sears didn’t score a single point but the renowned Alabama depth more than made up for it as forward Grant Nelson tallied 23 points and guards Labaron Philon, Aden Holloway and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. each put up 16-plus points.
Last time out, Houston: Like Alabama, the Cougars also stormed back from its first loss of the season with a dominant 91-45 win over Louisiana. Terrance Arceneaux (14 points), Milos Uzan (13), Mercy Miller (12), Emanuel Sharp (11) and J’Wan Roberts (11) each putting up double figures. Sharp and Miller each logged four steals boosting the team total to 17.
Last time out, Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights extended their undefeated start to the season with a 74-63 win over Merrimack. Rutgers’ top-tier freshmen duo of Ace Bailey (23 points) and Dylan Harper (14) combined for nearly half of the team’s points. They also led in the rebounding category as Bailey grabbed 10 while Harper had eight and Harper’s six assists were also a Rutgers-best.
Kalen DeBoer calls them “gimmie kicks.” The head coach’s philosophy has always been to give his kickers as many opportunities from short-distance attempts early in the season in order to get them in a rhythm and build up their confidence.
That’s the plan anyway. Alabama’s big-play offense prevented that transition for Miami-Ohio transfer Graham Nicholson in his first season with the Crimson Tide this year.
Nicholson, who earned the Lou Groza Award last season, didn’t even attempt a field goal in Alabama’s first two games. He pushed his first attempt wide right from 46 yards out at Wisconsin in Week 3. After hitting a 28-yarder against Georgia two weeks later, he didn’t get another attempt until the Week 8 loss against Tennessee, where he went 1 of 2, coming up short on a 54-yard try before hitting the target from 35 yards out.
Since then Nicholson has been perfect, connecting on two field goals against Missouri as well as one last week against Mercer. Now it seems like the graduate kicker is finally finding his rhythm.
“Getting that first one is hard, and it took him a long time to get that first opportunity,” DeBoer said of Nicholson during his weekly radio show on Wednesday night. “It isn’t his fault. We were just scoring touchdowns and the opportunities didn’t present themselves the same way.
“He has been just steady since Day 1. We see him every day in practice. I think he’s getting more and more comfortable in our stadium in particular.”
DeBoer called the two kicks Nicholson made a Missouri “critical to Alabama’s 34-0 win over the Tigers. The first of which came from a season-long 47 yards out as the kicker helped the Tide put points on the board to cap off the game’s opening possession. From there, Nicholson helped a struggling Alabama offense get some momentum by hitting a 39-yarder to put the Tide up 6-0 late in the second quarter.
“Thought [the 47-yarder] was a big kick for us right there to get three points on the board,” DeBoer said. “And then he came back and did it again.”
While kicking isn’t DeBoer’s expertise, he said he still makes an effort to monitor his kicker’s reps during practice in order to get a good feel of what affects them and what went wrong during misses.
“A kicker might miss a kick in practice, and if you really weren’t paying attention, you might just think it was him,” DeBoer explained. “Well, it might have been the snap or the hold or something else. There’s other moving parts to that part. It might not solely fall on the kicker missing in practice, and you can quickly some thoughts about, ‘Well, he’s not in his groove right now,’ when really there were other factors that played a role in it.”
As for Nicholson, DeBoer believes he’s finally found his rhythm and should be able to return to his award-winning form to close out the season.
“He’s mentally strong,” DeBoer said. “He’s got a lot that he’s done in the past that he goes back to that gives him the confidence he has. You still got a new place and you gotta kind of reprove yourself. He’s done a good job of doing that.”
Last season, Nicholson made 27 of 28 field-goal attempts and 35 of 37 extra-point tries. That included an NCAA-record streak of 25 straight made field goals. Through 10 games at Alabama, he is 5 of 7 on field goals and has made all 48 of his extra-point tries.
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