The Titans have waived snapper Jake Ingram, who was signed in the off-season as a possible replacement for free agent Ken Amato. Ingram’s departure leaves undrafted rookie Beau Brinkley as the only snapper on the roster unless the Titans decide to bring Amato back.
Two NFL teams had three snappers on the roster heading into this week and both are now down to two. Veteran Ryan Pontrbriand has been released by the Niners, while the Falcons have waived Corey Adams. The Niners have Kyle Nelson left to compete with Brian Jennings, while rookie Josh Harris will compete with Joe Zelenka for the snapping job in Atlanta.
High school snapper Cole Mazza, who was previously profiled on Longsnap.com for his impressive array of college scholarship offers just received another one that he could not pass up. Mazza has become what is believed to be the first snapper to accept a full scholarship to Alabama under Nick Saban.
Mazza, who was trained by snapping guru Chris Rubio, had originally committed to UCLA before receiving an offer of a full ride from Saban and the Crimson Tide. Mazza also had offers from Washington State and Utah.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have added some veteran snapping competition for incumbent veteran snapper Greg Warren. Matt Katula, who has seven years of NFL snapping experience, has been signed to a contract.
Katula snapped for the Vikings at the end of last season after Cullen Loeffler was injured and has previously snapped for the Patriots and Ravens.
With rookie minicamps complete and teams now in the middle of organized team activities or OTA, it’s a good time to survey the NFL snapping landscape. Although at least nine snappers received tryouts with NFL teams, to date, no tryout snapper has been signed. Thus, a total of eight rookie snappers have signed NFL contracts after the Draft.
Below is an updated Long Snapper Chart with the current snappers under contract for each NFL club.
There have been a few additional transactions involving snappers in the last few days. The Falcons waived Scott Albritton, leaving them with veteran Joe Zelenka, first year snapper Corey Adams and rookie Josh Harris on the roster. Another rookie, Bryce Davis, signed with the Bengals, while first year snapper Derek Chard signed with the Jets. Finally, rookie snapper Chris Pousson will tryout for the Bucs.
The smoke has started to clear from this weekend’s NFL Draft and the free agency frenzy that occurs right after for undrafted college talent. The undrafted route is the way most snappers make it to the NFL and this year is no exception. To date, seven rookie snappers have signed contracts, specifically, Josh Harris (Falcons), Charley Hughlett (Cowboys), Aaron Brewer (Broncos), Matt Camilli (Eagles), Nick Guess (Chargers), Travis Tripucka (Rams) and Beau Brinkley (Titans). The Ravens were the only club to add a street free agent snapper, as they signed Patrick Scales who was in training camp with them last season for all four pre-season games.
A number of other rookie snappers will receive tryouts in mini-camp over the next two weekends, including Kyle Wojta (Bears), Casey Casper (Packers), James Winchester (Chiefs) and Cody Nutter (Bucs).
Once again this year, no long snapper was selected in the Draft. Titan snapper Jake Ingram was the last snapper taken when he was drafted by the Patriots in the Sixth Round in 2009. However, a number of the top college snappers have either signed contracts or being invited to mini-camp on a tryout basis.
The rookie snappers associated with teams that I am aware of are Josh Harris (Falcons), Nick Guess (Chargers), Matt Camilli (Eagles), Beau Brinkley (Titans), Aaron Brewer (Broncos), Charley Hughlett (Cowboys), Travis Tripucka (Rams), Kyle Wojta (Bears) and Casey Casper (Packers). There are likely a few other moves pending that will be announced in the next few days.
Last week, the Giants quietly extended the contract of long snapper Zak DeOssie. DeOssie is now under contract until 2015. Picked in the Fourth Round of the 2007 NFL Draft as a linebacker out of Brown, DeOssie has made snapping his niche with the Giants. This is the second contract extension of his career.
Since Longsnap.com began in 2000, the most popular question I get from experienced aspiring long snappers is how to get exposure to NFL teams. I thought a detailed blog post would be a good way to finally capture the best advice I can offer after working with NFL teams and snappers for almost 20 years.
For snappers that are Draft eligible, there is a chance that one of the two NFL scouting services, National Football Scouting or BLESTO, may have scouted you during your junior year and that can help get you on the radar of NFL clubs. In addition, during your senior year, NFL scouts visit almost every college campus where there are pro prospects to scout players, including snappers.
Once the season ends, additional exposure is possible through college all-star games, of which the premier game, the Senior Bowl, now dedicates roster spots for snappers on each squad. The best snappers can also earn an invite to the NFL Combine in February in Indianapolis. In March, snappers can display their skills on campus for scouts at a Pro Day and can also help their cause by sending a DVD of their long and short snaps to each NFL team. I recommend sending the DVD directly to each NFL special teams coach since, in my experience, many of them will review and evaluate snapper film. Another option for seniors is to attend paid workouts, such as the NFL Regional Combine events, or those run for Draft-eligible prospects by former NFL special teams coach Gary Zauner or former NFL specialists Michael Husted and Louis Aguiar.
For snappers past their Draft year that either did not get an opportunity in the NFL, or are looking to get back on the radar of teams, options include returning to a campus Pro Day, the NFL Regional Combine or, for more direct exposure, attending the free agent version of the Zauner or Husted/Aguiar combines. The advantage of the free agent combines are that they offer the opportunity to snap in person for special teams coaches and pro personnel for NFL teams. Rookies in their Draft year cannot snap live for scouts in these programs.
Free agent snappers have already benefited from these opportunities this Spring. Matt Overton was signed by the Colts after snapping at the Zauner camp and a number of snappers were invited to a Jets workout recently after being scouted at both the Zauner and Husted combines. One free agent snapper, Jake Feit, was invited to the NFL Super Combine in Detroit by being one of the best snappers at one of the NFL’s Regional Combine events. Over the past few seasons, free agent snappers like Tanner Purdum (Jets), Jonathan Weeks (Texans) and Justin Drescher (Saints) have secured snapping jobs by first impressing at these free agent camps.
With just 32 potential jobs available for a snapper and a small handful of those truly open for competition each year, securing a shot in an NFL training camp is a very difficult task. However, by maximizing exposure in college during a snapper’s Draft year or performing well at a free agent camp, a snapper can increase the odds of reaching their dream.
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