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Tider Insider's
Recruiting Recap

PROFILE
for
A.J. DIAZ

Position  PLK/P 
Height  5'11
Weight  175
40-Speed  N/A
Hometown  Miami, FL
High School  Miami Springs
Qualified  Yes
Awards 
  • All-Dade County
  • Dade County All-Star
  • All-City Soccer Player
  • All-State
Alabama fans wanted a kicker -- now they have one.

Tide fans now want to know if A.J. Diaz is a good kicker. His HS coach, Buddy Goins, told us, "A.J. was the highlight of our season. He's a great, can't-miss type of player."

Some may wonder why A.J. didn't receive more publicity. "Miami would've taken him on the spot, but they only had a handful of scholarships this year. He just didn't get noticed until very late, "Goins said.

Goins told us that A.J. did not become popular with recruiters until after the season ended. A.J. caught the eyes of recruiters during practices for the Dade County post-season All-Star game. "People couldn't believe how well he kicked the ball in the practices," Goins said. "In the game two of his kickoffs went through the goal posts. And he kicked a 46 yard field goal as time expired in the first half."

Goins said that someone who watched the practices and all-star game notified Alabama's coaching staff about A.J.

A.J was 7 of 9 on FG attempts, 28 of 28 on PATs, and averaged 42.2 yards per punt even though several games this season were played in wet weather conditions. "Five of our games were played in torrential downpours," Goins said. "A.J. did a tremendous job in those games kicking a wet ball. His hang time was very good, and his placekicking was almost perfect."

Goins singled out a play by A.J. as his team's highlight of the season. "We had just given up a safety and had to free kick from our 20. A.J. kicks the thing down to their 11. Then he runs down field like a wild man and makes the tackle at their 20. That shows you what an athlete he is."

The coach says there's no doubt A.J. will be the Tide's placekicker next season. "He'll definitely be the placekicker. He'll win the punting job too, if they'll allow him to do both."

One major need for the Tide is a kicker who consistently puts KOs into the end zone. Goins says A.J.'s kickoffs land in the end zone 95% of the time.

Alabama fans, it sounds like you've got a pretty good kicker.


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