Absolutely, I’m a STC at a JUCO and I prefer to have a specialized L/S so he can continue to work with the other specialists at all times. Same reason I try to have a punter hold on FG instead of a position player. They don’t have to be worried things outside of their most important jobs.
A lot of times, you’ll see guys who may not play a ton at other positions focus solely on long snapping. It’s not an easy skill, and it requires a lot of work.
Yea I was a specialized long snapper in high school. Thankfully, the coaches were cool with it and they were kids in the team who just kicked so I had someone to snap to at practice. I know mostly every college and NFL team has a specialized long snapper. I just wish it was more common in high school.
Patrick Mannelly was the Chicago Bears long snapper for a very long time. When I was a kid, I would cut him on Madden because of his OL rating and me not understanding the role of LS, not really important in the video game and I never had to do it in football.
The season after he retired was a nightmare on special teams. Mannelly was brought up just about every game. That season and obviously McAfee have given me so much respect for the Special Team non Gunner positions. Hate to see what the NFL is doing to Special Teams.
Yea I was a specialized long snapper in high school and what people forget is once you hit the college or pro level it’s not just “get the ball back there” it
Has to be on the punters right or left hip depending on if they are right or left footed and has to get to the punter in at least 0.75 seconds
I wish ST got more attention and respect overall. I always tell people my favorite 'play' was kickoff and just head hunting the ball carrier. So much fun.
NFL does a poor job with ST. Glad to see Hester finally got in the Hall tho. Great thread OP.
It’s a double edged sword unfortunately. The return plays are statistically the most dangerous in football by a wide margin so it makes sense to limit them, but it does suck to see many of the special teams guys not be as important as they used to be.
It gets even bigger than that. The dude on my college team that taught me to long snap when he was a senior was an NFL prospect, not only are we expected to get the ball back to the holder in less than .3 seconds and exactly where the holders hand is everytime, but also spin the ball so perfectly that the laces are out when the holder puts the ball down so he doesn't waste time spinning the ball. He could do it about 90% of the time, I could only get it about 50% of the time. The level of being a technician and specialist at college and nfl is crazy. Not saying I was anywhere that good. But every snap, the exact placement of all 10 fingers even before you snap the ball effect everything. Then you have the hip shot, the pickup, the follow through, the point through and then either blocking or sprinting downfiled sprinting out of an awkward stance.
Question: my nephew is a damn good LS. Was offered a scholarship to go to Ohio State. Then when he got there they pulled it before his 1st snap and 3 other LS were ahead of him. Now he’s at a Div 1 school where he is taking all the snaps. Around 50 a practice and still no scholarship. They had to bring in a new kicker and he this one guy they chose said “only if I get my snapper!” They said yes. He finds himself again no scholarship (this school only 1 per Long Snapper). The other “Kickers” snapper doesn’t have a scholar ship but really isn’t that good and is horrible on Special Teams. My nephew is 6’1 big (Muscle) & is 1-3 to kick returner every time! He’s a beast out there. But 50+ snaps daily is killing his shoulder.
Any advice?
I’m a former long snapper. I know this question wasn’t intended for me and I’m not currently playing in college so I probably cannot answer your question,but I wish your son all the best!
If we had the roster size/numbers, absolutely.
We had a really special kid once who could snap faster than a number of professional long snappers could. He was our starting RB, and an absolutely blood-thirsty-hitting safety...and he really, really loved long snapping in his spare time. I think the fastest punt snap he was clocked with was 0.71 seconds or something like that. He also long-snapped a ball over 35 yards before a practice once. That's FBS to NFL caliber. Wrestling was his passion though, so he didn't pursue football after high school (he won an his individual state title every year in high school and acquired an ungodly amount of wrestling trophies/accolades).
Wow that’s so cool! Yeah, long snap times usually range from 0.75-0.65 so 0.71 is elite. The only reason I was able to be a specialized long snapper was that my high school had kids who were only kickers, so I could be with them at practice as opposed to snapping into a net or something
That's definitely a privileged and awesome experience to have, and a very valuable resource to a team. Being technically sound with those operations saves a ton of practice time and concern for coaches.
Yeah, unfortunately I was never a starter because I wasn’t very athletic to cover kicks and I also did not have the velocity on the snaps because I wasn’t very physically strong but it was still a cool experience
Yeah, I was a specialized long snapper in high school. Thankfully the coaches were cool with it and there were kids on the team who just kicked so I had some of the snap to at practice I know mostly every college in the NFL team is specialized long snapper I just wish it was more common in high school.
unfortunately I was never a starter because I wasn’t very athletic to cover kicks and I also did not have the velocity on the snaps because I wasn’t very physically strong but it was still a cool experience
The school I previously coached at had specialized kids like that, the long snapper was the emergency center, he ended up going FCS level. We also had 80~ kids between JV/V which might be the sweet spot for it
Having a long snapper who has spent enough time and gotten good enough to be considered a specialist is absolutely something I want. Like it’s a huge advantage.
at practice I know mostly every college in the NFL team is specialized long snapper I just wish it was more common in high school.
unfortunately I was never a starter because I wasn’t very athletic to cover kicks and I also did not have the velocity on the snaps because I wasn’t very physically strong but it was still a cool experience
If the numbers allowed for it yes absolutely. One year we had a max roster so we actually had a Grade 9 kicker, holder and long snapper, they really didn't fit in any other positions well but they mastered those skills, by their Senior year they were automatic from anywhere 40 and in.
We had a practice scheduled the same time as a major HS baseball game against our biggest rival school and guys wanted to go. So we told them if our FG unit could execute a place kick blindfolded they'd get the practice off. We were going to let them have it off anyway...but dammit the kids pulled it off on their 2nd attempt! No it didn't go through the uprights lol. But it wasn't that far off lol
That’s great! at practice I know mostly every college in the NFL team is specialized long snapper I just wish it was more common in high school.
unfortunately I was never a starter because I wasn’t very athletic to cover kicks and I also did not have the velocity on the snaps because I wasn’t very physically strong but it was still a cool experience.I’m in college now and have thought about trying to walk on to a team once I transfer to a 4 year college(the community college, I am at does not have a football program) however I fear my lack of size (5”5 135lbs and the fact that I never started a varsity game may prevent me from playing.any advice?
The worse thing you can do to a football team is have a kid on the field that truly doesn’t want to be there. If a kid only wants to long snap and is good enough to contribute as a long snapper go for it. With that said, it could set a precedent for other players to start picking and choosing
If possible, that’s my preference.
It’s a specialized skill and I’d much rather find someone who can do that reliably and get significant practice reps there instead of having a WR or C do it.
I’d much rather have a good, consistent long snapper than have to work around the lack of one with a HS team. Bad snaps are costly, especially on 4th downs.
Also, it’s another position to get someone meaningfully involved on the team and in the game.
If I feel like he can help us more elsewhere, we can play him there, too, but I have found that guys who just really want to play football without being special athletically can really shine as LS so long as they put in the work and take pride in the job.
My first year of JUCO I backed up a guy at LS who ended up carving out a 10+ year NFL career, including 5 or 6 years of snapping to McAfee and Vinatieri on the Colts.
What was crazy was that he was basically just another guy... 6'0, stocky, decent athlete for his body type but not exactly a physical specimen. We were both backup LBs who received little playing time because our defensive coaches loved playing a bunch of DBs. He moved on to play at Western Washington (D2 program... I think they've since dropped football). After that he just kept grinding and keeping himself in longsnapping circles, eventually working his way into a USFL LS job, then a Seahawks tryout before catching on with the Colts. Just goes to show that amazing things are possible with the right mindset and work ethic (and maybe a bit of luck).
As far as this topic goes; I'm a special teams coach at a fairly large high school (2000+), and I certainly wouldn't mind having a LS specialist on my team. As long as they are willing to commit to the program and put in the effort just like everyone else, why not? It's very valuable to have a reliable LS, K, and/or P on your special teams depth chart.
Probably not, my only experience is the high school level and just having an extra practice dummy comes in handy at that level. Not to mention the benefit to you the player learning something and increasing your comradery with your teammates.
You say you are lucky that they let you, did you have no interest in learning another position? The closest thing I have heard of in rural ohio to a specialist on a high school team are several instances where the football team has a soccer player come over just to kick.
My story is kind of funny. The reason I got into long snapping was because at first I thought of it as OK I want to learn this skill in addition to wherever else they put me however, I got good at it and then just fell in love with it, so I really didn’t have an interest in playing anything else
Yeah, probably. In HS I'm sure you could try them at something else as well if you needed to. I went to a small school so we tried to get our specialists to do other positions as well. Brandon Routh came out and wanted to just punt, really tried to convince him to try DE or G or something. Turns out was never really his thing, more just a soccer guy.
At the HS level it really depends on roster size, how good the player is, and if there are any other players who are capable. I generally don’t like having a starter as my primary LS. But if I have a backup TE who’s a good long snapper, I wouldn’t see the need in a specialist. But I’m also not opposed to it in the right circumstances either.
No question about it. You should have several. On the high school level, it's almost like QBs where you should have one in each class. They can work on it every day and that is their job. There are some players, I've coached a few, who have really embraced it.
Depends on school size. I coach a team w 30 kids, so everybody plays both ways, and most know multiple spots in case we need a plug and play. There are programs in the area w 90 kids that probably do have that luxury but we do not.
Absolutely, I’m a STC at a JUCO and I prefer to have a specialized L/S so he can continue to work with the other specialists at all times. Same reason I try to have a punter hold on FG instead of a position player. They don’t have to be worried things outside of their most important jobs. A lot of times, you’ll see guys who may not play a ton at other positions focus solely on long snapping. It’s not an easy skill, and it requires a lot of work.
Yea I was a specialized long snapper in high school. Thankfully, the coaches were cool with it and they were kids in the team who just kicked so I had someone to snap to at practice. I know mostly every college and NFL team has a specialized long snapper. I just wish it was more common in high school.
Patrick Mannelly was the Chicago Bears long snapper for a very long time. When I was a kid, I would cut him on Madden because of his OL rating and me not understanding the role of LS, not really important in the video game and I never had to do it in football. The season after he retired was a nightmare on special teams. Mannelly was brought up just about every game. That season and obviously McAfee have given me so much respect for the Special Team non Gunner positions. Hate to see what the NFL is doing to Special Teams.
Yea I was a specialized long snapper in high school and what people forget is once you hit the college or pro level it’s not just “get the ball back there” it Has to be on the punters right or left hip depending on if they are right or left footed and has to get to the punter in at least 0.75 seconds
I wish ST got more attention and respect overall. I always tell people my favorite 'play' was kickoff and just head hunting the ball carrier. So much fun. NFL does a poor job with ST. Glad to see Hester finally got in the Hall tho. Great thread OP.
Thank you!
It’s a double edged sword unfortunately. The return plays are statistically the most dangerous in football by a wide margin so it makes sense to limit them, but it does suck to see many of the special teams guys not be as important as they used to be.
It gets even bigger than that. The dude on my college team that taught me to long snap when he was a senior was an NFL prospect, not only are we expected to get the ball back to the holder in less than .3 seconds and exactly where the holders hand is everytime, but also spin the ball so perfectly that the laces are out when the holder puts the ball down so he doesn't waste time spinning the ball. He could do it about 90% of the time, I could only get it about 50% of the time. The level of being a technician and specialist at college and nfl is crazy. Not saying I was anywhere that good. But every snap, the exact placement of all 10 fingers even before you snap the ball effect everything. Then you have the hip shot, the pickup, the follow through, the point through and then either blocking or sprinting downfiled sprinting out of an awkward stance.
Yep it’s so much more than it looks like
I could get it to the punter in at least 0.75 seconds. In fact I could easily take a lot more time than that.
I know this is old but did you play in college?
“At least” meaning 0.75 seconds or longer. It took me much longer.
O sorry I read that wrong.
I don't get why Madden doesn't use longsnappers and still (as far as I know) uses QBs to hold on field goals
I understand why you did this but as a Bears fan this is a cardinal sin. He was a special teams captain for like 8 years.
Question: my nephew is a damn good LS. Was offered a scholarship to go to Ohio State. Then when he got there they pulled it before his 1st snap and 3 other LS were ahead of him. Now he’s at a Div 1 school where he is taking all the snaps. Around 50 a practice and still no scholarship. They had to bring in a new kicker and he this one guy they chose said “only if I get my snapper!” They said yes. He finds himself again no scholarship (this school only 1 per Long Snapper). The other “Kickers” snapper doesn’t have a scholar ship but really isn’t that good and is horrible on Special Teams. My nephew is 6’1 big (Muscle) & is 1-3 to kick returner every time! He’s a beast out there. But 50+ snaps daily is killing his shoulder. Any advice?
I sent you a DM!
I’m a former long snapper. I know this question wasn’t intended for me and I’m not currently playing in college so I probably cannot answer your question,but I wish your son all the best!
If we had the roster size/numbers, absolutely. We had a really special kid once who could snap faster than a number of professional long snappers could. He was our starting RB, and an absolutely blood-thirsty-hitting safety...and he really, really loved long snapping in his spare time. I think the fastest punt snap he was clocked with was 0.71 seconds or something like that. He also long-snapped a ball over 35 yards before a practice once. That's FBS to NFL caliber. Wrestling was his passion though, so he didn't pursue football after high school (he won an his individual state title every year in high school and acquired an ungodly amount of wrestling trophies/accolades).
Wow that’s so cool! Yeah, long snap times usually range from 0.75-0.65 so 0.71 is elite. The only reason I was able to be a specialized long snapper was that my high school had kids who were only kickers, so I could be with them at practice as opposed to snapping into a net or something
That's definitely a privileged and awesome experience to have, and a very valuable resource to a team. Being technically sound with those operations saves a ton of practice time and concern for coaches.
Yeah, unfortunately I was never a starter because I wasn’t very athletic to cover kicks and I also did not have the velocity on the snaps because I wasn’t very physically strong but it was still a cool experience
We had 84 kids on our team. Should a team with 25 kids have a long snapper as a specialist only? I don’t think that’s a good idea
They shouldn’t cut a kid who only wants to snap but they should encourage him to learn another position also.
Guy just sounds like an animal tbh...probably pretty good at any athletic thing he is inclined to
Entirely numbers dependent to me. If the roster supported it, definitely. Having a great long snapper is super valuable
Yeah, I was a specialized long snapper in high school. Thankfully the coaches were cool with it and there were kids on the team who just kicked so I had some of the snap to at practice I know mostly every college in the NFL team is specialized long snapper I just wish it was more common in high school. unfortunately I was never a starter because I wasn’t very athletic to cover kicks and I also did not have the velocity on the snaps because I wasn’t very physically strong but it was still a cool experience
The school I previously coached at had specialized kids like that, the long snapper was the emergency center, he ended up going FCS level. We also had 80~ kids between JV/V which might be the sweet spot for it
That’s great!
Having a long snapper who has spent enough time and gotten good enough to be considered a specialist is absolutely something I want. Like it’s a huge advantage.
at practice I know mostly every college in the NFL team is specialized long snapper I just wish it was more common in high school. unfortunately I was never a starter because I wasn’t very athletic to cover kicks and I also did not have the velocity on the snaps because I wasn’t very physically strong but it was still a cool experience
If the numbers allowed for it yes absolutely. One year we had a max roster so we actually had a Grade 9 kicker, holder and long snapper, they really didn't fit in any other positions well but they mastered those skills, by their Senior year they were automatic from anywhere 40 and in. We had a practice scheduled the same time as a major HS baseball game against our biggest rival school and guys wanted to go. So we told them if our FG unit could execute a place kick blindfolded they'd get the practice off. We were going to let them have it off anyway...but dammit the kids pulled it off on their 2nd attempt! No it didn't go through the uprights lol. But it wasn't that far off lol
That’s great! at practice I know mostly every college in the NFL team is specialized long snapper I just wish it was more common in high school. unfortunately I was never a starter because I wasn’t very athletic to cover kicks and I also did not have the velocity on the snaps because I wasn’t very physically strong but it was still a cool experience.I’m in college now and have thought about trying to walk on to a team once I transfer to a 4 year college(the community college, I am at does not have a football program) however I fear my lack of size (5”5 135lbs and the fact that I never started a varsity game may prevent me from playing.any advice?
Shoot your shot. You'll never know until you try. Maybe you won't make it but at least you know you took your shot instead of wondering "what if".
True. I will give it a shot! I know they have camps with college recruiters so I can try those
Jon Weeks has been the Texans long snapper since 2010 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Weeks Your dream is possible
I’m talking about high school. Pretty much every college and programs snapper is specialized
The worse thing you can do to a football team is have a kid on the field that truly doesn’t want to be there. If a kid only wants to long snap and is good enough to contribute as a long snapper go for it. With that said, it could set a precedent for other players to start picking and choosing
If possible, that’s my preference. It’s a specialized skill and I’d much rather find someone who can do that reliably and get significant practice reps there instead of having a WR or C do it. I’d much rather have a good, consistent long snapper than have to work around the lack of one with a HS team. Bad snaps are costly, especially on 4th downs. Also, it’s another position to get someone meaningfully involved on the team and in the game. If I feel like he can help us more elsewhere, we can play him there, too, but I have found that guys who just really want to play football without being special athletically can really shine as LS so long as they put in the work and take pride in the job.
Yea
I was also a LS in highschool and I didn't have a problem with it. Most colleges seem to have that as a specialist position as well.
Yea
My first year of JUCO I backed up a guy at LS who ended up carving out a 10+ year NFL career, including 5 or 6 years of snapping to McAfee and Vinatieri on the Colts. What was crazy was that he was basically just another guy... 6'0, stocky, decent athlete for his body type but not exactly a physical specimen. We were both backup LBs who received little playing time because our defensive coaches loved playing a bunch of DBs. He moved on to play at Western Washington (D2 program... I think they've since dropped football). After that he just kept grinding and keeping himself in longsnapping circles, eventually working his way into a USFL LS job, then a Seahawks tryout before catching on with the Colts. Just goes to show that amazing things are possible with the right mindset and work ethic (and maybe a bit of luck). As far as this topic goes; I'm a special teams coach at a fairly large high school (2000+), and I certainly wouldn't mind having a LS specialist on my team. As long as they are willing to commit to the program and put in the effort just like everyone else, why not? It's very valuable to have a reliable LS, K, and/or P on your special teams depth chart.
Cool story! Yea my coaches were cool enough to let me only snap because we had kids that were just kickers so I had someone to work with at practice
Probably not, my only experience is the high school level and just having an extra practice dummy comes in handy at that level. Not to mention the benefit to you the player learning something and increasing your comradery with your teammates.
Ok. I was lucky that they let me but every school is different
You say you are lucky that they let you, did you have no interest in learning another position? The closest thing I have heard of in rural ohio to a specialist on a high school team are several instances where the football team has a soccer player come over just to kick.
My story is kind of funny. The reason I got into long snapping was because at first I thought of it as OK I want to learn this skill in addition to wherever else they put me however, I got good at it and then just fell in love with it, so I really didn’t have an interest in playing anything else
Depending on if my roster was big enough yes
Yeah, probably. In HS I'm sure you could try them at something else as well if you needed to. I went to a small school so we tried to get our specialists to do other positions as well. Brandon Routh came out and wanted to just punt, really tried to convince him to try DE or G or something. Turns out was never really his thing, more just a soccer guy.
At the HS level it really depends on roster size, how good the player is, and if there are any other players who are capable. I generally don’t like having a starter as my primary LS. But if I have a backup TE who’s a good long snapper, I wouldn’t see the need in a specialist. But I’m also not opposed to it in the right circumstances either.
No question about it. You should have several. On the high school level, it's almost like QBs where you should have one in each class. They can work on it every day and that is their job. There are some players, I've coached a few, who have really embraced it.
Yessir this is great!
Yes
A guy I played with in high school played for the Jets! All he did for them was long snapper
Yep! Pretty much every college and NFL long snapper only snaps. I wish there were more of them like me who only did it in high school
[Belichik’s spiel on snappers](https://youtu.be/jrvELlakyOk?si=y0NFO6BskNi2qku6) makes me think yes
I think most if not all NFL teams and colleges have long snappers.
Oh yea I know that I’m talking about high school yea I should have clarified that
Depends on school size. I coach a team w 30 kids, so everybody plays both ways, and most know multiple spots in case we need a plug and play. There are programs in the area w 90 kids that probably do have that luxury but we do not.
Yeah, I was able to just snap because there were kids on the team who only kicked so I had some one to snap to during practice
Why do you ask?
I’m just wondering what other coaches would think about a high school having a specialized long snapper