Snapping Moves After Preseason Week One

Posted on August 12, 2019 by longsnap

With the first week of NFL preseason games complete, there have been a handful of transactions at the snapping position.  Most recently, veteran Kevin McDermott was released by the Vikings, leaving drafted rookie Austin Cutting as the Minnesota snapper.

Andrew East (Redskins) and Kyle Vasey (Falcons) were also waived prior to the first preseason game, while the Bengals added rookie Dan Godsil as Clark Harris was unable to practice to start camp.  Godsil remains on the roster, although Harris has returned.

With these moves, ten clubs (Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Chargers, Miami, New Orleans, Giants, Oakland and San Francisco) have two snappers on the roster.

There was also one new snapper contract finalized, as Tyler Ott of the Seahawks was rewarded with a new deal that will keep him in Seattle through the 2022 season.

Posted in NFL, NFL Draft, Transactions | Comments Off on Snapping Moves After Preseason Week One

Andrew East Interviews the Man Who Took His Job

Posted on August 8, 2019 by longsnap

Long snapper Andrew East has been with multiple NFL teams since he entered the NFL in 2015.  Most recently, he was waived by the Redskins after replacing the injured Nick Sundberg for the final three games of last season.

East’s story of dedication and perseverance is a common one for a long snapper trying to make the NFL.  The harsh reality is there are only 32 jobs and, at best, just a few that available to claim each year.

East faces these issues head on in his new Redirected interview with Sundberg, appropriately called “A Conversation with the Man Who Took My Job”.

The interview, linked below, is a must see for any snapper or, more generally, for anyone interested in what it takes to make it in the NFL.

 

 

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An Extensive Examination of Icing the Kicker in the NFL and College

Posted on August 5, 2019 by longsnap

Long snappers are critical to every successful kick, especially on field goal attempts.  Icing the kicker, by calling a timeout before the kick, is a tactic that some coaches have employed as part of normal game strategy.

Nathan Cooper of Sports Info Solutions conducted an excellent and very detailed analysis of the impact of icing the kicker in NFL games from 2014-2018 and NCAA games in 2018.  Cooper concludes that icing the kicker can be an effective strategy and even considers the best time to do it.  For those interested in the details, Cooper’s story is worth a read.

Icing the Kicker: Does it Really Work?

Posted in Coaching, College, NFL | Comments Off on An Extensive Examination of Icing the Kicker in the NFL and College

25 FBS College Seniors Named to Patrick Mannelly Award Watch List

Posted on August 2, 2019 by longsnap

Yesterday was an important day for long snappers as the Watch List for the inaugural Patrick Mannelly Award Presented By Bernie’s Book Bank was announced.

A total of 25 senior FBS snappers were on the initial list, although additions are possible before the 10 semi-finalists are announced on Monday, November 16th.

Three finalists will be selected on Monday, November 23rd, with the winner selected in Chicago, Illinois on Saturday, December 14th.

I am honored to be one of the founders of this long overdue award, along with Patrick Mannelly himself and Chris Rubio.

Below is a list of all 25 Watch List snappers.

Patrick Mannelly Award Watch List 2019

 

 

Posted in College, Patrick Mannelly Award, Snapping in the Media | Comments Off on 25 FBS College Seniors Named to Patrick Mannelly Award Watch List

College and NFL Snapping Odds and Ends

Posted on July 17, 2019 by longsnap

With NFL training camps opening today, the college season is not far behind.  Things are already heating up for snappers and will continue August 1st, when The Patrick Mannelly Award, for which I am honored to be one of the founders, will announce its Watch List.

Chris Rubio, another Mannelly Award co-founder, just concluded his camp for college snappers in which Blake Ferguson of LSU was crowned the champion.  Former NFL special teams coach Gary Zauner has his own camp in which Liam McCullough of Ohio State was given the award.  Both Ferguson and McCullough are considered top snapping prospects for the 2020 NFL Draft.

Yesterday, SpecialTeamsU announced its own All American Watch List of college snappers, shown below.

Finally, in just the past few days, snappers played a prominent role on social media again, with various #BottleCapChallenge videos from top NFL and college snappers and talk of Madden ratings for NFL snappers.

All of this means meaningful football games are coming soon!

Posted in Coaching, NFL, NFL Draft, Snapping in the Media | Comments Off on College and NFL Snapping Odds and Ends

2019 Training Camp Long Snapper Chart

Posted on July 16, 2019 by longsnap

Some NFL teams will start training camps tomorrow, making it the perfect time to debut the 2019 Training Camp Long Snapper Chart.

The Chart below has detailed information on each team’s snapper, including contract expiration dates.  Special teams coaches are also included, along with information on the 12 teams with two snappers on the roster heading into camp.

2019 Training Camp Chart

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2019 Phil Steele All-American Long Snappers; FCS All-Americans from HERO Sports

Posted on June 30, 2019 by longsnap

Phil Steele’s 2019 College Football Preview is now available and remains one of the best publications for in-depth college football information.  Once again, Steele includes four long snappers on his Preseason All-American Team and goes a step further in the magazine to rank the top four snappers in each FBS conference as well.

This year’s All-American Team features Blake Ferguson (LSU) as the First Team snapper.  Damon Johnson (USC), Steve Wirtel (Iowa State) and Geron Eatherly (Tulane) are the Second, Third and Fourth Team snappers.  All are seniors except for Johnson, who is a junior.

HERO Sports also included two long snappers on its recently published 2019 Preseason All-American Teams for FCS players.  First Team was Josh Brady of Jacksonville State and the Second Team was Bradey Sorenson South Dakota State.

Posted in College, Snapping in the Media | Comments Off on 2019 Phil Steele All-American Long Snappers; FCS All-Americans from HERO Sports

NFL Snapping Update Before Training Camps

Posted on June 17, 2019 by longsnap

NFL teams are now done with official off-season activities until training camps open in July.  Recently, snappers Dan Godsil (Buccaneers) and Christian Kuntz (Jaguars) were waived, leaving both teams without a second snapper.  A total of 12 teams (Falcons, Ravens, Bears, Cowboys, Chargers, Dolphins, Vikings, Saints, Giants, Raiders, 49ers and Redskins) currently have two snappers on the roster heading to training camp.

Before leaving for the break, Luke Rhodes of the Colts signed a new deal that adds four years to his existing contract and also made him the highest paid long snapper in the NFL.

Posted in NFL, Transactions | Comments Off on NFL Snapping Update Before Training Camps

2019 CFL Long Snappers

Posted on June 14, 2019 by longsnap

The Canadian Football League regular season started last night and, like the NFL, the long snapping position generally remains stable.  Two snappers differ from last year’s opening day rosters, as Tanner Doll now starts in British Columbia and Aaron Crawford snaps for Hamilton.

The starting long snappers for each CFL team are below.

British Columbia 40 Tanner Doll

Calgary 54 Pierre-Luc Caron

Edmonton 53 Ryan King

Hamilton 47 Aaron Crawford

Montreal 37 Martin Bedard

Ottawa 50 Louis-Phillippe Bourassa

Saskatchewan 46 Jorgen Hus

Toronto 58 Jake Reinhart

Winnipeg 46 Chad Rempel

Posted in CFL | Comments Off on 2019 CFL Long Snappers

Summary of NFL Draft Snapping Transactions

Posted on May 14, 2019 by longsnap

NFL rookie mini-camps ended Sunday and below is a summary of the recent activity at the snapping position regarding those drafted, signed or offered tryouts since the NFL Draft.  Only certain mini-camp tryouts are made public and some are reported incorrectly as contract signings.  Further, depending on the timing, some snappers were able to attend two mini-camps.  Some of the tryout snappers have prior NFL experience, having either been in training camp or having attended prior mini-camp tryouts.

If there are any snappers missing from this list, please let me know by emailing me at kevingold@longsnap.com.

DRAFTED

Austin Cutting (Air Force/Vikings)

SIGNED

Kyle Casey (Penn State/Falcons)

Matt Orzech (Azusa Pacific/Ravens)

John Wirtel (Kansas/Bears)

Wes Farnsworth (Nevada/Dolphins)

Nick Moore (Georgia/Saints)

Dan Godsil (Indiana/Buccaneers)

TRYOUT

Joe Fortunato (Delaware/Giants)

Nick Reinhardt (Arizona/Browns)

Luke Idoni (Central Michigan/Bears and Lions)

Jacob Bobenmoyer (Northern Colorado/Bears and Broncos)

Patrick Eby (Columbia/Packers)

Owen Gilbert (Marian/Colts)

Lucas Gravelle (TCU/Raiders)

Chris Wilkerson (Stephen F. Austin/49ers and Titans)

Mitchell Fraboni (Arizona State/Cardinals)

Matt Tunnacliffe (Dayton/Bengals)

Tyler Heinsma (Mesa State/Texans)

Anthony Kukwa (Lake Erie/Texans)

AJ Hantak (Eastern Illinois/Patriots)

Drew Ferris (Florida/Redskins)

Zach Roberts (Georgia Tech/Redskins)

 

 

Posted in NFL, NFL Draft, Transactions | Comments Off on Summary of NFL Draft Snapping Transactions