When people here the name Red Snapper, most people think of a fish. Some may even think of ‘Wheel of Fish’ from Weird Al Yankovic’s cult-classic, ‘UHF’. For die-hard Redskin fans however, Red Snapper truly is “very tasty”.
Ethan Albright has quietly become one of the best long snappers in the NFL — quietly because as a long snapper, if people know your name, it’s likely because you made a critical error.
“It’s my fifth season here, and I don’t think half the people in Washington know I’m here, so I’ve done my job.”
People should know all about the 11-year veteran and father of four from the University of North Carolina. He is not only one of the best players in the league at his position, but Albright has also been quite active off the field in conjunction with local charities. He has worked with the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation in order to raise money for the D.C. Central Kitchen as well as the Ronald McDonald House. In Buffalo, Albright worked with inner-city youth and elementary school kids throughout the area.
The Miami Dolphins signed Albright as an undrafted rookie free agent in 1994, where he spent part of the year on the Dolphin’s practice squad, before signing with the Green Bay Packers’ practice squad for the last month of the season.
The Greensboro, North Carolina resident re-signed with the Dolphins the following year, making the 53-man roster and his NFL debut before falling to a season-ending knee injury in the middle of November.
In 1996, the Dolphins waived Albright and the Red Snapper signed with the Buffalo Bills, playing in 10 games and making his first post-season appearance. Since that season, Albright has not missed a game, playing in all 16 games for the last eight seasons four of which were played in Buffalo, with the remainder coming with the Burgundy and Gold.
So just how did Albright come to be known as “Red Snapper”?
“When I played with the Dolphins I was always sunburned and the veterans by the second week of camp started coming up with nicknames for all the rookies. Red was kind of easy. In Miami, seafood is everywhere and Red Snapper is always on the menus. Trace Armstrong looked at me: ‘You the Red Snapper’ and it’s kind of stuck.”
It may sound a bit fishy, but the Red Snapper was a great catch.
Scott Hurrey is a senior writer for theHogs.net. To contact Scott with questions or comments, please contact him at Scott.Hurrey@theHogs.net.
Edit: This blog was archived in May of 2016 from our original articles database.It was originally posted by Scott Hurrey