Re: Calif. LS Cole Mazza
I think we've gotten spoiled by Tinker. He's one heck of a long snapper who happens to be a walk-on. When's the last time we had a long-snapper as good as Tinker? Not all walk-ons, very few actually, are as good and as consistent as Carson Tinker.
Saban is just making sure that we'll have someone who can be at least as good as Tinker, if not better, to replace him after this year. If he really is as fast and as accurate with his snaps as people are saying he is and he can do that from the get-go in games at Alabama then he's very likely worth his scholarship.
How many blocked punts have you seen where the defender just barely got his fingertips on the ball? And extra .1 to .2 seconds could prevent every single one of those. How many shanks have you seen on punts that the punter had to rush because of the pressure, giving the opponent great starting field position? An extra .1 to .2 seconds, especially if it's an accurate snap, may give the punter just enough extra time to get a decent or even a good kick away more times than not when he would have rushed it and shanked it without that extra time. If the long snapper can do that and average saving one punt (either a block or a shank) per game then, over an entire season, he's just taken several hundred yards of field position away from your opponents. How much is several hundred yards of field position worth in a season? I'd say it's definitely worth 1 scholarship out of 85.
And that's just on punts.
How many blocked field goals have you seen where the defender just got his fingertips to the ball? How many times have you seen a field goal missed or blocked because the snap was a little high or a little to the side, taking a little bit of extra time to the ball placed, causing the kicker to have to rush the kick? An extra .1 second, especially if the snap is consistently very accurate, could easily mean that several of those misses are now points on the scoreboard. If the long snapper saves one Field Goal every two to three games then he's basically given you an extra 15 to 18 points or so over a full season. Is an extra 15 to 18 points a season worth 1 scholarship out of 85? I think so.
Of course, giving a scholarship to any player is a gamble, especially giving one to a specialist. It's kind of like calling a fake punt. If it works out then you're a genius while if it doesn't work out then you're an idiot.
Given how good this kid appears to be and the impact he could have, especially when compared to the possibility of spending a season or two without finding a quality replacement for Tinker, then I think we would be stupid not to offer him a scholarship.