​Another position battle is complete for Alabama football. Kalen DeBoer named Alex Asparuhov as the Crimson Tide’s starting punter to begin the 2026 season against East Carolina Saturday, Sept. 5. “We’ll have Alex Asparuhov be our starting punter,” DeBoer said. Asparuhov beat North Alabama transfer Adam Watford, who set a school record of 32 punts of 50-plus yards with a 46.5 yards-per-punt average.Asparuhov had playing time against Louisiana Monroe, but no punts after being considered one of the top punters in the 2025 recruiting class.Alabama named Conor Talty as the Crimson Tide’s starting kicker. Marshall transfer Lorcan Quinn will handle kickoffs. Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter or Instagram @colingaytnews. This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football names starting punter for 2026 season