Week Fifteen in Review

Posted on December 18, 2018 by longsnap

Week Fifteen provided another excellent example of the value of never giving up and the perseverance required to succeed in the NFL as a long snapper.

On Sunday, after a season-ending back injury to Redskins snapper Nick Sundberg, Andrew East made his regular season debut.  East began his NFL journey in 2015 from Vanderbilt and was cut seven times by five different teams.  East never gave up on his dream and his first game culminated in a game-winning field goal snap Sunday for Washington.

Week Fifteen also included a rare bad snap by veteran Don Muhlbach of the Lions that prevented an extra point attempt.

Two snappers had workouts this past week, as Nick Meadows had a tryout with the Steelers and Christian Kuntz worked out for the Jaguars.  Kuntz was signed to the Jaguars practice squad yesterday and is a candidate to sign a contract for next season after the regular season ends.  Zach Triner also worked out for the Packers just prior to Week Fourteen.

Three snappers recorded tackles in punt coverage this week, with Reid Ferguson (Bills) and Beau Brinkley (Titans) adding solo stops and Tyler Ott (Seahawks) tallying an assisted tackle.

The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Fifteen is below.

2018 Week Fifteen

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College All-Star Game Snappers Set

Posted on December 13, 2018 by longsnap

With snappers Dan Godsil (Indiana) and Nick Moore (Georgia) selected for the Senior Bowl, the other two key college all-star games have selected their snappers.

The Shrine Game, which finally added snapping specialists last year, will have Chris Wilkerson from Stephen F. Austin and Caleb Perez from Central Florida.

The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl will feature Austin Cutting from Air Force and Patrick Eby from Columbia.

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Week Fourteen in Review

Posted on December 11, 2018 by longsnap

Week Fourteen is complete and two snappers made their season debuts, as veteran Jon Condo returned to the NFL for Atlanta and Colin Holba snapped for San Francisco.  There were no major snapping issues, although there were a number of missed field goal kicks and extra points.

There may be more controversy brewing following the Seahawks blocked field goal last night against the Vikings.  Bobby Wagner of Seattle lept two defensive lineman to block the kick.  The issue is Wagner may have used his hands for leverage, which is a 15 yard penalty.  However, a penalty was not called.  Based on some other plays this year in which the snapper was involved, this play may get further scrutiny in the off-season.

The other issue that continues to be discussed involves ball movement by the snapper before kick snaps.  Among some of the more interesting discussions following the Mike Windt ball issue from last week’s Monday Night Football game were the comments from former NFL referee Gene Steratore.

Steratore noted that there are many snappers in the NFL known for unique movements before the snap and estimated that 65-70 percent of snappers do something pre-snap.  Steratore also indicated that he, or the game umpire, would always talk to snappers before the game about their pre-snap routines.  We will see if this issue gets addressed in the off-season as well.

Just one snapper, Luke Rhodes of the Colts, recorded a tackle in punt coverage this week.  The NFL Long Snappers Chart for Week Fourteen is below.

2018 Week Fourteen

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Five Finalists Announced for David Binn Award

Posted on December 9, 2018 by longsnap

Five finalists have just been announced for the first annual David Binn Award given to the best college long snapper.  The finalists are Tyler Griffiths (NC State), Austin Frey (Texas A&M), Blake Ferguson (LSU), Dan Godsil (Indiana) and Wes Farnsworth (Nevada).  All are seniors except Ferguson.

I must admit that when the original list of 50 snappers under consideration for the award was published on Twitter on July 1, it caught me by surprise.  That initial list was later narrowed down to 22 snappers on November 1 before the five finalists were announced on December 7, 2018.

I have not been able to independently confirm whether former Chargers long snapper David Binn has anything to do with the award, but it looks legitimate from what I can determine.  Anyone who has any additional information on the Award can contact me at kevingold@longsnap.com.

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Godsil and Moore Invited as Senior Bowl Long Snappers

Posted on December 5, 2018 by longsnap

The Senior Bowl is the premier college all-star game and just announced the two long snappers that have been invited to the game, Dan Godsil (Indiana) and Nick Moore (Georgia). The Senior Bowl takes place in Mobile, Alabama on January 26, 2019.

The Shrine Game added snappers last year and the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl has invited snappers since the game started.  Stay tuned for the snappers invited to those games.

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Snapping Moves in Atlanta and San Francisco

Posted on December 5, 2018 by longsnap

After weeks of continuity at the snapping position, yesterday changed all that.  First, Josh Harris of the Falcons, who recently signed a contract extension, was placed on injured reserve due to reported hip and groin issues.  He was replaced with former Raiders snapper Jon Condo.

That was followed by news that Niners snapper Kyle Nelson had been suspended for ten games due a violation of the NFL’s performance enhancing substances policy.  Nelson will be suspended for the next four games of this season and first six of the 2019 season.  Colin Holba, who spent some time with the Jaguars last season, will replace Nelson.

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Week Thirteen in Review

Posted on December 4, 2018 by longsnap

Week Thirteen is complete and snapping was a major issue this week in some unusual ways.  The Chargers beat the Steelers Sunday on a late field goal that followed three straight offsides calls against Pittsburgh.  It appears they were drawn offsides by simulated snaps from Mike Windt of the Chargers.

After the play, Joe Schobert of the Browns tweeted that Windt “is notorious for twitching and moving the ball before he snaps.”  Schobert said he has pointed this out to referees before and was told it would not get called because, according to that referee, Windt has always done it.

Earlier the game, Steelers snapper Kameron Canaday was injured on a punt return but did not miss a snap.  Vance McDonald, a Pittsburgh tight end, is the emergency snapper and was getting ready on the sidelines in case Canaday could not return.

Another Steelers play from Week Twelve continues to generate further discussion.  The Broncos blocked a Steelers field goal in the first quarter after Justin Simmons made some contact with Steelers snapper Kameron Canaday.  In a recent interview, Steelers special teams coach Danny Smith noted that he believes the rule about contact with the snapper has changed during the season.

Smith explained that you initially couldn’t touch the snapper at all.  However, he believes the rule now is you can have some contact as long as you don’t use leverage to raise yourself up which would be a penalty.  The Simmons play was legal since his foot grazed Canaday’s back but he didn’t push off him, which would have been a penalty.

Smith suggested there are three ways to stop a leaping field goal block attempt that depended on such things as the distance and protection look, but declined to identify the ways in the interview.

This past week featured a few snapper workouts as Zach Triner worked out for the Panthers and the Niners hosted a group of snappers consisting of Tanner Carew, Jon Condo, Lucas Gravelle, Colin Holba and Taybor Pepper.

Finally, two snappers had tackles in punt coverage.  Client Patrick Scales of the Bears had a solo tackle, while LP Ladouceur added an assist.

The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Thirteen is below.

2018 Week Thirteen

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New Book to Assist with the NFL Draft Process

Posted on November 30, 2018 by longsnap

As college football ends its regular season and conference championships this weekend, the inquires I get from NFL Draft prospects and parents as an NFL agent tend to increase dramatically.

In an effort to help educate those involved in the lives of prospects, Neil Stratton, owner of the football industry website Inside the League has published an excellent new resource.

Stratton’s paperback Moving the Chains: A Parent’s Guide to the NFL Draft Process provides unique insight into all-star games, agents, training facilities and other critical aspects of the events leading up to the NFL Draft.

Anyone interested in learning more about the sometimes mysterious process of how the NFL finds new talent will benefit from Stratton’s book, including long snappers eligible for this year’s NFL Draft.

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Week Twelve in Review

Posted on November 27, 2018 by longsnap

Week Twelve is complete and was, once again, a quiet one at the snapping position.  Matt Overton of the Jaguars suffered a shoulder injury but was able to return to the game.

Six snappers had tackles in punt coverage this week.  Luke Rhodes (Colts) and Kameron Canaday (Steelers) had solo tackles, while Reid Ferguson (Bills), Charley Hughlett (Browns), Clark Harris (Bengals) and Jon Weeks (Texans) added assisted tackles.

The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Twelve is below.

2018 Week Twelve

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Week Eleven in Review

Posted on November 20, 2018 by longsnap

Week Eleven of the NFL season is complete and was another generally uneventful week for snappers.  The only potential injury involved Rick Lovato of the Eagles, who is in the concussion protocol after suffering a head injury late in Sunday’s game.  The Eagles did not have a snap after Lovato’s injury although Nate Gerry, a linebacker, is the backup.

Two snappers, Nick Sundberg of the Redskins and Jake McQuaide of the Rams, had solo tackles in punt coverage.

The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Eleven is below.

2018 Week Eleven

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