Raiders Waive Kukwa

Posted on July 8, 2017 by longsnap

With NFL training camps about to open, some teams are still making roster moves.  When that happens, the second long snapper is often at risk, as was the case with the Raiders.  Anthony Kukwa, who signed with Oakland after the Draft, was waived yesterday leaving veteran Jon Condo as the only snapper on the roster.

Just six teams (Cowboys, Dolphins, Saints, Eagles, Steelers and Seahawks) have two snappers on the roster heading into training camp. With Kukwa’s departure, the only snappers remaining on rosters from this year’s Draft class are Colin Holba (Steelers), Thomas Hennessy (Colts), Chase Dominguez (Saints).

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Phil Steele All-American Team Snappers

Posted on June 30, 2017 by longsnap

Phil Steele’s 2017 College Football Preview is on newsstands now and remains the best source for college football information.  Steele always includes long snappers on his Preseason All-American Team and his previews of all FBS schools.

This year’s team features Ike Powell of Auburn as the First Team snapper.  Wesley Horky (Oklahoma) is Second Team, while Dan Godsil (Indiana) and CJ Keller (Stanford) are the Third and Fourth, respectively.  All are seniors, except for Godsil, who is a junior.

 

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CFL Snappers for 2017

Posted on June 23, 2017 by longsnap

The 2017 CFL regular season got underway last night, so it is a good time to take a look at the starting snapper for each club.  There is only one change since last season’s opening day starters, as Louis-Phillippe Bourassa is now the snapper for Ottawa.  Jorgen Hus of Saskatchewan and Chad Rempel of Winnipeg are the only snappers with NFL training camp experience.

British Columbia 40 Mike Benson

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

 

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More Snapping Moves as Mini-Camps End

Posted on June 15, 2017 by longsnap

With mini-camps ended, there have been a few snapping transactions this week.  Client Jimmy Landes, who was drafted by the Lions last year, was waived leaving Don Muhlbach for another season in Detroit.  The Saints waived Tyler Schmitt and added veteran Thomas Gafford, who will compete with rookie Chase Dominguez.

 

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Two HS Snappers from 2019 Class Earn Full Scholarships

Posted on June 14, 2017 by longsnap

Two high school long snappers from the 2019 class have just received full scholarship offers.  Quentin Skinner from Georgia has an offer from LSU and Simon Samarzich from California picked up an offer from Fresno State.

Both snappers trained with snapping guru Chris Rubio.  Rubio told me he started training them at the age of nine!

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Steelers Bring Back Canaday

Posted on June 12, 2017 by longsnap

This week is the final week for off-season workouts in the NFL.  After this week, the next official action will be the opening of training camps at the end of July.

I do not expect many snapping moves before training camp, although the Steelers recently re-signed Kameron Canaday.  Canaday was signed in February and then released last month before his recent return.  The Jaguars had some snappers workout last week, including Matt Overton, Andrew East, Jeff Overbaugh and Taybor Pepper, but no one has been signed as of yet.

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Derek Hart’s Path to the NFL

Posted on June 8, 2017 by longsnap

I often say that every long snapper has an interesting story. One of the more fascinating stories of a snapper’s path to the NFL involves client, Derek Hart.

As explained in more detail in this new Packer Report and Bill Huber story, Hart gave up football last year after his senior year at James Madison.. Personal circumstances compelled him to give the NFL a shot and, after strong performances at two free agent combines earlier this year, he is now the snapper in Green Bay.

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Steelers Release Warren

Posted on May 23, 2017 by longsnap

Last week, the Steelers released veteran snapper Greg Warren with a failed physical designation, ending his 12 season tenure with the team.  Warren apparently experienced some issues with a prior injury and felt playing the 2017 season would pose a significant risk.

Warren’s release clears the way for rookie Colin Holba, who was drafted last month out of Louisville, to assume the snapping duties in Pittsburgh.

Pro Football Focus published an interesting study of Warren following his release showing his accuracy had decreased the past few seasons.  According to PFF’s analysis, Warren was 98% accurate in 2013 and 98.6% in 2014 before dropping to 95.7% in 2015 and 94.9% in 2016.  The NFL average for long snapper accuracy in 2016 was 96.1% based on PFF’s review and grading of all punts and placement snaps.

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No Snappers Signed after Mini-Camp Tryouts

Posted on May 15, 2017 by longsnap

Rookie mini-camps are now complete in the NFL and it does not appear that any of the tryout snappers were offered contracts.  In Tampa Bay, former Bills snapper Garrison Sanborn will have the job for now, as Dax Dellenbach was waived.

There are just eight teams (Cowboys, Lions, Dolphins, Saints, Raiders, Eagles, Steelers and Seahawks) with two snappers on the roster at this time.

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Three Snappers Waived

Posted on May 8, 2017 by longsnap

No tryout snappers were signed as of yet from this past weekend’s rookie mini-camps.  However, three teams reduced the number of snappers on their roster, as Kameron Canaday (Steelers), Zach Triner (Jets) and Taybor Pepper (Packers) have all been let go.  Another snapper from last year’s Draft class, Nick Dooley, was a mini-camp invite for the Vikings.

Twenty teams will hold mini-camps this weekend and there is a chance one or two snappers may be signed after those.

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