Alabama produces great players on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. However, there is one aspect of the game that often gets universally overlooked by the casual fan: special teams.
Will Reichard, the Crimson Tide’s sophomore kicker, did not miss a single kick in Alabama’s 2020 national championship-winning season.
Who delivered the ball to Mac Jones to hold for Reichard’s kicks? Well, that would be Thomas Fletcher.
Fletcher has been with the program since 2017, and has not missed a beat.
You may not know his name, but that’s probably okay with Fletcher. The only way a longsnapper’s name is known is if they aren’t doing their job.
Alabama currently has one former longsnapper in the NFL, Carson Tinker, who went undrafted in 2013, but snapped for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and is now a member of the New York Giants.
Fletcher took to twitter to announce that he has accepted an invitation to attend the 2021 NFL combine ahead of the NFL draft in April.
Things will certainly look a little different this year but I couldn’t be more excited to have accepted an invite to the NFL Combine!#NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/RnEx2ZTGrH
— Thomas Fletcher (@longsnapfletch) February 19, 2021