He’s the player Alabama football fans like seeing on the field the least. But punter James Burnip has been “a weapon” for the the Crimson Tide early in the 2024 season, according to head coach Kalen DeBoer.
Burnip punted four times in Alabama’s 42-10 victory against Wisconsin, averaging 53 yards. His long was a 64-yarder that pinned the Badgers deep.
“I want to highlight also just how James Burnip’s been doing kicking the football,” DeBoer said at the start of his Monday press conference ” He’s a gamechanger. He can flip the field really on any kick. We saw that again on Saturday. Just proud of the way he goes about it. He’s just quiet, but man, when he hits the ball, it makes a noise. I mean that in a lot of ways. So it’s fun seeing him do his thing at a high level.”
DeBoer spoke about how valuable he was in Camp Randall.
“Just how the field flipped with a few plays there. James does that for you,” DeBoer said on Monday. ” As long as we give him what we need from a protection standpoint — you know you’re going to get a good snap with Kneeland (Hibbett). He’s rock solid.
“James puts everything into it. All his energy and power into that kick. Technically it was just so sound, so consistent. He’s been that way all fall camp and we got a lot of trust in him and it’s something our whole team, when he goes out there, they believe in him.”
Burnip is in his fourth year with the Crimson Tide. The 6-foot-6 Australian averaged 47.54 yard per kick last season.
He was named second-team all-SEC by the league’s coaches in 2024. Burnip earned preseason all-America honors for 2024.
“He’s a weapon to have,” DeBoer said. “And like you said, it flips the script and now the defense with a little more field space to work with can set the tone, especially when you get into those backed-up situations. I think it was three times inside the 20 yard line is what James did as far as backing them up. Huge weapon for us.”
Alabama will be back in action on Sept. 28 against Georgia.
