Tennessee football: Brent Cimaglia success depends on new snapper

For the third straight year, the Tennessee football Volunteers have a new snapper.

Last year, Brent Cimaglia had an All-SEC caliber season for Tennessee football. He hit 23 of 27 field goals, was nine of 11 on kicks beyond 40, made both attempts beyond 50, hit the longest field goal for a Vol since Jeff Hall in the mid-1990s by drilling a 53-yarder, and still hasn’t missed an extra point in his college career.

It could have been better.

Both of Cimaglia’s misses against the Missouri Tigers, one of which was inside 40 yards, came down to bad snaps. The first one was high, while the next one was wobbly and a bit low. Give him those two kicks, and he looks even greater.

The issue was Tennessee football had a new snapper last year. Riley Lovingood replaced Jesse Medford, who handled the duties altogether in 2018, was the short snapper for punts in 2017 and was the short snapper for field goals and extra points in 2016.

Lovingood, who was the starting long snapper for punts in 2016 and 2017, was very good at his job on that point, even earning special teams player of the week in 2016. However, he never consistently snapped on field goals.

Well, this year, the Vols have a new long snapper once again with Lovingood gone. Matthew Salansky is returning as a sophomore, but Jeremy Pruitt revelead in his unofficial depth chart that Will Albright will be the one handling duties early on.

Albright was a two-star recruit in the Vols’ 2020 recruiting class. Yes, he actually earned a rating as an offensive lineman. Taking that account, the 6’1″ 220-pound true freshman out of Greeneville High School in Greeneville, Tenn. has a lot of pressure on him.

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So what does this mean for Cimaglia? Well, depending on how well Albright performs, he could take a major step forward or have a huge drop-off this year. Long snapper is a huge deal when it comes to place kicking.

Lovingood was actually solid for the most part last year, but there were some inconsistencies, and that kept Cimaglia from being what all kickers want to be, which is at least automatic inside 40, reliable from beyond 40 and the power to hit from beyond 50. Cimaglia is capable of reaching that if Albright steps up for Tennessee football at the position.

Should there be an issue at long snapper, then UT could suffer a big drop-off. It’s happened before at places. People wonder how a kicker could show such a regression, and often times, a new snapper can change everything.

If you want proof of the position’s importance, just look at a former Vol currently in the NFL. Morgan Cox of the Baltimore Ravens is a three-time Pro Bowler and has played there for 11 years. Ever wonder why Justin Tucker is such a superstar kicker? He won’t generate the headlines other stars like Eric Berry or Alvin Kamara will, but his consistency outshines all of them.

Now, holder can also be an issue, and Joe Doyle had a mistake on the hold in that second Mizzou miss. However, he is back this year, so we know what Tennessee football is getting with him. Also, if he doesn’t handle the duties well, UConn Huskies graduate transfer Brett Graham is an experienced holder. As a result, Cimaglia’s success depends on the long snapper.