Final Cuts Involve Veteran Snappers Snow and Zelenka

Posted on August 31, 2012 by longsnap

Today’s final cuts are in and two veteran snappers, client Justin Snow (Colts) and Joe Zelenka (Falcons), did not survive.  Matt Overton will snap for the Colts, while rookie Josh Harris won the Atlanta job.

Other snappers that were released today include Bryce Davis (Bengals) and Kyle Nelson (49ers).  In addition to Overton, who has prior NFL experience in training camp with the Seahawks, and Harris, other new snappers are rookies Aaron Brewer (Broncos) and Beau Brinkley (Titans).

Beginning next week and every Tuesday of the NFL Regular Season, the Longsnap.com blog will feature its regular Week in Review posts and NFL Long Snappers Chart.

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Broncos Explain Snapping Decision

Posted on August 29, 2012 by longsnap

One of the more notable cuts as teams got down to 75 players on Monday was the Broncos decision to release veteran snapper Lonie Paxton in favor of rookie Aaron Brewer.  Broncos head coach John Fox explained the move this week and gave some insight into what it takes for a younger snapper to unseat a veteran.

“He’s an exceptional athlete” according to Fox. “A lot of times with a snapper one of the things you look at is the protection element. He is like a center on the offensive line. He picked that up very, very quickly. He’s very athletic so he’s a really good cover guy for a center. A lot of times, people on punt returns don’t count that guy. We just felt great about his upside and his performance in the preseason games.”

With the final cuts due Friday evening, just four teams (Falcons, Bengals, Colts and Niners) have two snappers in camp.

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Veteran Lonie Paxton Released by Broncos

Posted on August 27, 2012 by longsnap

Today is the day that NFL teams must reduce their rosters to 75 players with the final cut to 53 occuring on Friday.   The Broncos cut veteran snapper Lonie Paxton, a 13 year veteran today giving rookie snapper Aaron Brewer the job.

A number of other snappers have also been let go in the last few days, including Patrick Scales (Ravens), Charley Hughlett (Cowboys), Derek Chard (Jets), Matt Katula (Steelers), Nick Guess (Chargers) and Travis Tripucka (Rams).

Once final rosters are set, Longsnap.com’s exclusive 2012 NFL Long Snappers Chart for the first week of the regular season will be posted.

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Snapping Prospects for 2013 NFL Draft

Posted on August 26, 2012 by longsnap

With the NFL and college seasons about to start, there are some senior college snappers that have already been identified as top prospects for the 2013 NFL Draft.

For the first time, the premier college all-star game, the Senior Bowl, has released a “Watch List” identifying some of the best talent in college.  The List includes two snappers, Carson Tinker of Alabama and Patrick Greene of Utah.

ESPN’s Scouts Inc has also produced its first set of 2013 Draft prospects and  features eight snappers.  Tinker is ranked at the top, followed by Jordan Cowart (Notre Dame), Peter Mangieri (Nebraska), Dax Dellenbach (Florida State), Greene, Luke Ingram (Hawaii), Taylor Klein (UAB) and Adam Steiner (Akron).

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Texas A&M Coach Tweets for Specialists

Posted on August 24, 2012 by longsnap

With the start of the college football season approaching, Kevin Sumlin, the new Head Coach at Texas A&M, sent out a message on Twitter yesterday to current A&M students looking for a snapper, kicker and punter.  Coach Sumlin was scheduling a meeting for today on campus to discuss walk-on tryouts for the specialist positions.  It will be interesting to see if any snapping talent was hiding among the student population.

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Everest Fired by Steelers

Posted on August 23, 2012 by longsnap

In a very rare move, the Steelers terminated Special Teams Coach Al Everest and have replaced him with Amos Jones, who had been his assistant.  Although it is not uncommon to have coaching changes at the end of the season, or, in some cases, during the season, it is highly unusual to fire a coach just prior to the start of the regular season.

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Alabama Snapper Awarded Scholarship

Posted on August 23, 2012 by longsnap

Alabama senior snapper Carson Tinker had a rough 2011 after he was injured and his girlfriend killed in a tornado back in April.  This season is off to a much better start already as Tinker is considered a solid NFL snapping prospect for the 2013 NFL Draft and has just learned that he will be awarded a scholarship for his final season.

Tinker’s story is yet another great example of the hard working and dedicated athletes that fill college and NFL rosters at the long snapping position.

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Snappers May Need to Deal with New Footballs This Week

Posted on August 16, 2012 by longsnap

In 1999, kickers, punters and snappers had to contend with special kicking footballs, known as K balls.  Now, for at least the second week of preseason, all players will need to deal with a football with synthetic laces.

Apparently, the NFL has asked that teams use the synthetic lace football as a “test” rather than a ball with traditional leather laces.  Synthetic lace footballs, although common at the college and high school level, have already caused concern among NFL quarterbacks and some snappers as well.  Teams have been told they have the option of which ball to use during this week’s preseason games.

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Buffalo News Profiles Garrison Sanborn

Posted on August 10, 2012 by longsnap

Most long snappers prefer their anonymous but critical role in the NFL.  To that end, snappers rarely seek or desire the media spotlight.  Perhaps the lone exception is the preseason stories that commonly focus on long snappers and their special place in football.

A recent story in the Buffalo News on snapper Garrison Sanborn is no exception.  The article notes Sanborn’s improvement as a snapper over the past few years and his constant desire to be perfect.  As part of that effort to achieve perfection, Sanborn notes that on punts he will aim for the NFL patch on his punter’s pants since his punter prefers to receive snaps on his right hip.  For field goals, Sanborn will pick a vein on his holder’s arm and aim for that area.

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Training Camp Snapping Moves

Posted on August 7, 2012 by longsnap

With the first full week of NFL preseason games approaching, some teams have made moves at the snapping position.  The Lions waived Matt Camilli, who first signed with the Eagles after the Draft but was waived in June.  The Bucs added Andrew DePaola, who snapped at Rutgers under current Bucs coach Greg Schiano.  DePaola completed his college career in 2009, but is considered a rookie since this is first contract in the NFL.

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