Lester Cotton is more than a football player to those at Central High School. He’s an example.
The 6-foot-4, 315-pound man-mountain is listed as a third-team left tackle on the University of Alabama’s depth chart, but just a few hundred yards away from UA’s practice fields, he’s an inspiration.
From the time Central was formed with the consolidation of Tuscaloosa High and Druid in 1979 through 2002, it was one of the state’s largest schools and an athletic powerhouse that sent several athletes on to play at big-time colleges, including football players like Dennis Riddle, Marvin Constant and Pete DiMario to Alabama.