Cole Joseph Frank Mazza (born February 14, 1995) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

long snapper In gridiron football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a Center (gridiron football), center on American football positions#Special teams, special teams whose duty is to Snap (gridiron football), snap the football over a longer distance, ty ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

College career

Mazza was served as the starting long snapper

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

for four seasons, including the team's 2015 National Championship year. He missed only two games in four years due to injury and finished his collegiate career without a single botched snap in 583 attempts. Following his senior season Mazza was invited to participate in the

2017 Senior Bowl The 2017 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and prospects for the 2017 draft of the professional National Football League (NFL). The game concluded the ...

Professional career

Mazza garnered little NFL interest after graduating and worked for two years as a fitness coach until earning a tryout from the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

Birmingham Iron

Mazza was signed by the Birmingham Iron of the

. He served as the long snapper in all eight of the team's games before the league folded.

Los Angeles Chargers

Mazza was signed by the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

on April 8, 2019. Mazza beat out nine year incumbent

Mike Windt Mike Windt (born May 29, 1986) is a former American football long snapper. He played college football at Cincinnati Bearcats football, Cincinnati. College career Windt had an outstanding three-year career (2007–09) at the University of Cincin ...

to become the Chargers' long snapper for the 2019 season. Mazza made his NFL debut on September 8, 2019 against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. Mazza served as the Chargers' long snapper for all 16 games in his first NFL season. On August 30, 2021, Mazza was waived/injured by the Chargers and placed on injured reserve. He was released on September 8, 2021.

Houston Gamblers

On January 19, 2023, Mazza signed with the

Houston Gamblers The Houston Gamblers were an American football team that competed in the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. The Gamblers were coached by veteran NFL head coach Jack Pardee in both their seasons. They were noteworthy for introducin ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). On April 10, 2023, Mazza was released by the Gamblers.

References

External links

Alabama Crimson Tide bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazza, Cole 1995 births Living people American football long snappers Los Angeles Chargers players Players of American football from Bakersfield, California Alabama Crimson Tide football players Birmingham Iron players Houston Gamblers (2022) players Liberty High School (Bakersfield, California) alumni