Thomas Fletcher Accepts NFL Combine Invite
Former Alabama Crimson Tide long snapper, Thomas Fletcher has accepted an invitation to compete in the 2021 NFL combine.
This year due to COVID-19 protocols all on-field workouts for the combine will take place on college pro-days.
Fletcher has been hard at work since the College Football National Championship, competing in the Reese's Senior Bowl a few weeks ago and training with Gary Zauner, long time NFL coach.
Back in January, he also took home some impressive hardware, being awarded the Patrick Mannelly Award, an award given to the best long snapper in college football.
Since 1981 only 12 long snappers have actually been drafted in the NFL, the majority are signed as undrafted free agents.
But In 2020 the Miami Dolphins drafted LSU long snapper, Blake Ferguson, with the 185th pick (6th round), showing the NFL has placed a high priority on the position in recent years.
In his four years as a starter for Alabama, Fletcher didn't mess up a single snap, impressive numbers for the Texas native.
In an interview with Charlie Potter of BamaOnline24/7 Fletcher stressed that he still has plenty of work to do.
"The stat sheet reads perfect season and perfect four years because I never had a snap that stopped a play, necessarily. But nobody is perfect,” Fletcher said. “Nobody has ever been perfect. Kobe Bryant talked about that when he talked to our team. He said, ‘While nobody is perfect, you can aspire to be perfect, and you can do everything that you can to bridge the gap between where you are and being at that level.’ To think that there’s not 1,000 different things that I need to improve on on the field is ludicrous. I’m nowhere close to the player that I aspire to be and the player that I hope that I can learn and grow and become in the future.”
2021 Alabama Crimson Tide Record Book