One member of Alabama’s No. 1-ranked signing class for 2017 is tasked with replacing a four-year starter this fall. Luckily for Thomas Fletcher, though, he has known the player he’ll supersede since he was a freshman in high school.
The Crimson Tide’s long snapper for the past four seasons, Cole Mazza, exhausted his eligibility and will look to join an NFL team either through the NFL Draft or via free agency. But the outgoing specialist essentially hand-picked Fletcher as his replacement and shared that with his coaches.
“Because I’ve been teaching at the Rubio (Long Snapping) camps, I’ve been around him,” Mazza told BamaOnLine at the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. “I’ve been in Coach (Bobby) Williams’ ear and Coach (Nick) Saban’s ear, and his ear as well, recruiting him the whole time. Hopefully he can come in and take my spot and make an impact right away.”