Arizona Wildcats land verbal commitment from Texas long snapper Geno Albini, fill special teams hole

The Arizona Wildcats received a verbal commitment Saturday from 2018 long snapper Geno Albini, who also became the first commit since new UA coach Kevin Sumlin was hired in January.

From Wimberley, Texas, the 5-foot-11, 200-pound Albini also became the first special teams commit of the 2018, and announced his pledge to the Wildcats via Twitter. 

Beyond blessed to announce I'm officially committed to the University of Arizona! #BearDown #Ateam18 @CoachSpringerST @coachtheronaych @CoachSumlin @CJRecruiting1 @ArizonaFBall pic.twitter.com/pNA1BoG8kt

— Geno Albini (@GenoAlbini) February 3, 2018

Per 247 Sports, Arizona hasn't officially offered Albini as his only offers were from South Alabama and UTSA, so he will join Arizona for the upcoming season as a preferred walk-on. However, Albini did have interest from Arkansas, TCU and Sumlin's former stomping grounds, Texas A&M. 

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What does this commitment mean? It fills a much-needed gap on the Wildcats as they had several issues at that position, particularly during field goals. Nick Reinhardt tore his ACL in September with other long snapper Donald Reiter focused on punts. Arizona struggled with the exchange between snapper and holder during the 2017 season. Even tight end Trevor Wood and center Nathan Eldridge snapped for the Wildcats this season. 

Is Albini the answer for Arizona's problems? That remains to be seen, but field goal snaps proved to be a frequent issue last season and Sumlin and special teams coach Jeremy Springer add depth to the hole. 

Here's Albini's highlights: