Longsnap.com

When Longsnap.com began in 2000, one of the unique features in the weekly News and Notes newsletter was a listing of each Division One college snapper by conference.  Compiling snapper information back then was hard, as many teams did not publish depth charts or, in some cases, simply excluded the snapper.

Things have changed since then and, although it is still impossible to find a decent list of every Division One college snapper, it is a bit easier to find and review team depth charts and compile the list.  With the help of an excellent intern, Josh Gibson from Stony Brook University, I am pleased to be able to provide Longsnap.com’s exclusive compilation of each snapper at the Division One level.  Snappers are listed by conference and team, along with their jersey number, height, weight, class year and any additional comments.  The information was based on team depth charts as of early October so there may be a few changes since it was finalized.

2010 College Long Snappers

The Chargers fourth snapper, Ethan Albright, lasted two weeks.  Albright has been released and the Chargers have signed rookie Mike Windt, who played for the University of Cincinnati and was in training camp with the Bengals.  Windt will be the Chargers fifth snapper after David Binn, James Dearth and Ryan Neill were each placed on injured reserve prior to Albright being signed.

Week Five was a slow week for snapper tackles, as the only one to record a statistic on punt coverage was Garrison Sanborn of the Bills, who recovered a fumble.  The Chargers continue to be plagued by critical special teams problems, including two block punts in their loss to the Raiders on Sunday. 

The updated NFL Long Snapper Chart is attached.

Week Five Long Snappers Chart

Scott Albritton, a long snapper from Colorado State and one of the top long snapping prospects for the upcoming NFL Draft, suffered a likely season-ending knee injury last week.  Albritton will be replaced by redshirt freshman Tanner Hedstrom.

It is very rare for a special teams coach to be fired during the season, but the Dolphins took that unique step by firing John Bonamego and replacing him with his assistant, Darren Rizzi.  The Dolphins had a number of problems with their special teams units in their loss to the Patriots last night that likely contributed to Bonamego’s dismissal.

Week Four is complete and featured a number of snappers contributing tackles on punt coverage.  Jason Kyle of the Saints followed up last week’s fumble recovery with a forced fumble and assisted tackle on the same play.  Chris Massey of the Rams had two solo tackles, while Greg Warren (Steelers), Brian Jennings (49ers), Ken Amato (Titans), Jon Condo (Redskins) and Mike Leach (Cardinals) each had a solo tackle.

Special teams play continues to have a significant impact in games, as there have now been eight kickoff returns for touchdowns this season, a new NFL record for the first four weeks of the season.  Last night’s Monday Night Football game was a perfect example of the value of special teams play, as the Patriots returned a kickoff for a touchdown, blocked a field goal for a touchdown and blocked a punt that led to a touchdown.

The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Four is below.

Week Four Long Snappers Chart

In a recent post, I highlighted some of NFLDraftScout.com’s top snapping prospects.  Another respected independent group of scouts at ESPN Scouts Inc. have recently published their top NFL prospects for the 2011 Draft and have included eight long snapping prospects.

Each snapper have been given a 30 grade which is roughly a borderline draftable player, but the order of the snappers is as follows:

Andrew Schulze (Iowa)

Christian Yount (UCLA)

Scott Albritton (Colorado State)

Zachary Enyeart (Washington State)

Daniel Aiken (Virginia)

Neal Dahlman (Bowling Green)

Aaron Feld (Mississippi State)

Jacob Ekkens (Central Michigan)

The bad luck streak continues for the Chargers as they have placed their third snapper, Ryan Neill, on injured reserve and signed a new snapper, veteran Ethan Albright.  Albright snapped for the Redskins last season and is in his 16th season in the NFL.  Neill joins James Dearth and David Binn on the list of snappers placed on IR this season by San Diego.

Week Three is complete and did not have any significant snapping issues.  Pat Mannelly of the Bears set a team record last night by playing in his 192nd game.  Mannelly has missed just three games in his career.  Jason Kyle of the Saints recovered a fumbled punt, as did Jon Condo of the Raiders.  Condo had an assisted tackle, while Ken Amato (Titans), Don Muhlbach (Lions) and Jeremy Cain (Jaguars) each had solo tackles.

There are now some late published reports indicating that Ryan Neill of the Chargers may have suffered a significant injury and, if he needs to be replaced, the Chargers will have had four snappers already this season.

Here is the NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Three.

Week Three Long Snappers Chart

Week Two is complete and without any major snapping issues.  Chargers snapper Ryan Neill returned to the NFL after the club lost David Binn and his replacement James Dearth to injury.  Four snappers, Clark Harris (Bengals), Ken Amato (Titans), Andrew Economos (Bucs) and Lonie Paxton (Broncos), each added a solo tackle in punt coverage.

Below is the NFL Long Snappers Chart for Week Two.

Week Two Long Snappers Chart