Better Know A Signee: Joseph Bulovas

Joseph Bulovas

Hometown: Mandeville, Louisiana

High School: Mandeville

Height: 6’0”

Weight: 215

Position: Kicker

To say that Vanderbilt had issues with placekicking in 2020 would be an understatement. Ryley Guay graduated after the 2019 season and enrolled at the med school, and placekicking duties then went to walk-on Pierson Cooke, who beat out scholarship kicker Javan Rice for the job. Cooke went 4-of-9 on field goal attempts in 2020, and that included two misses inside of 30 yards — where, frankly, any college kicker should be automatic. Cooke was also 1-for-4 outside of 40 yards, with a season-long of 41.

(I’m just not going to mention the elephant in the room here.)

Anyway, Vanderbilt has brought in a graduate transfer to shore up the kicking game. Joseph Bulovas was Alabama’s primary placekicker in 2018 and for most of 2019 before ceding kicking duties to Will Reichard. During his time at Alabama, he converted 134 of 142 extra points and also made 22 of 29 field goals. He made a career-long 49-yard field goal in 2018 against Mississippi State.

In other words, this is probably going to be your starting placekicker for the next year or two. Listed as a redshirt junior at Alabama last year, Bulovas has two years of eligibility remaining. (For the record, Javan Rice is no longer listed on the football roster and presumably has left the program.)