Long snapper
Encyclopedia
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
, the term long snapper refers to a player who is a specialized center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
during punts
Punt (football)
In some codes of football, a punt is a play in which a player drops the ball and kicks it before it touches the ground. A punt is in contrast to a drop kick, in which the ball touches the ground before being kicked....
, field goal
Field goal (football)
A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...
s, and extra point
Extra Point
Extra Point is a twice-daily, two-minute segment on ESPN Radio that covers generic sports-related topical news and opinion. The AM edition airs Monday through Saturday at various times between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET, and the PM edition airs Monday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET...
attempts. His job is to snap
Snap (football)
A snap starts each American football and Canadian football play from scrimmage.-Action:...
the ball as quickly and accurately as possible.
During field goal
Field goal (football)
A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...
s and point after touchdown
Extra Point
Extra Point is a twice-daily, two-minute segment on ESPN Radio that covers generic sports-related topical news and opinion. The AM edition airs Monday through Saturday at various times between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET, and the PM edition airs Monday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET...
, the snap is received by the holder
Holder (American football)
In American football the holder is the player who receives the snap during field goal and extra point attempts made by place kick. The holder is usually positioned between seven and eight yards behind the line of scrimmage. The holder kneels down and places the hand farthest from the line of...
. During punt plays the snap is delivered to the punter
Punter (football position)
A punter in American or Canadian football is a special teams player who receives the snapped ball directly from the line of scrimmage and then punts the football to the opposing team so as to limit any field position advantage. This generally happens on a fourth down in American football and a...
. A good, consistent long snapper is hard to find, and many marginally talented players have found a niche exclusively as long snappers.
A "bad snap" is an off-target snap which causes the delay of a kick or the failure of a play.
The long snapper still performs the normal tasks of a center and also runs downfield after the ball has been punted to help defend the punt return.
In college football
Many teams, especially in college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
, refer to the snapper in a punt formation as a deep snapper and reserve the term long snapper for the snapper in a field goal formation. Scholarships
Athletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
for long snappers used to be rare, but are becoming more popular as colleges begin to recognize the importance of special teams.
In the NFL
Before specialization, the long snapper was often a player who primarily played another position. A recent example would be Allen AldridgeAllen Aldridge (linebacker)
Allen Ray Aldridge Jr. is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 1994 NFL Draft...
, who started at linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
for the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
and also served as the team's long snapper . This allowed the team to dress another non-specialist player.
In the NFL long snappers are usually amongst the least known players because of their highly specialized and not very visible role on the field. They are also in general not drafted and normally are acquired as undrafted free agents. Ryan Pontbriand
Ryan Pontbriand
Ryan David Pontbriand is an American football long snapper and center who is currently a free agent. He played collegiately at Rice University, and was drafted in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns...
of the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
has the distinction of being the highest-drafted long snapper in the history of the NFL Draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
. He was drafted in the fifth round (142nd overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft
2003 NFL Draft
The 2003 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft was held April 26–27, 2003 at the Theatre at...
by the Browns. Zak DeOssie
Zak DeOssie
Zackary Robert "Zak" DeOssie is an American football linebacker and Long snapper for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Giants in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Brown.A two-time Pro Bowl selection in 2008, 2010 as a...
, long snapper for the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, was drafted in the fourth round (116th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft
2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 National Football League Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so...
; however at the time he was drafted as a linebacker. Todd Thomas
Todd Thomas (American football)
Todd Thomas was a gridiron football player. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 1981 NFL Draft. He played college football at North Dakota.-Early years:...
was selected in the fifth round (124th overall) of the 1981 NFL Draft
1981 NFL Draft
The 1981 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1981...
, for his long snapping abilities, by the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
. At the time draft records listed him as a tackle, but he served as the long snapper for the Chiefs during the 1981 season.
Despite their anonymity, a team lacking a skilled long snapper can be seriously undermined. A famous example of this was on January 5, 2003 during the 2002 wild card playoff game between the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
and New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. The Giants during the regular season had suffered missed field goals due to the lack of an experienced long snapper, and signed Trey Junkin
Trey Junkin
Abner Kirk "Trey" Junkin III is a former American football linebacker, tight end, and long snapper in the National Football League...
out of retirement to be the snapper for the playoff game. Junkin botched a snap on a field goal attempt that could have won the game for the Giants, who had led 38-14 at one point in the game. Brad St. Louis
Brad St. Louis
Brad Allen St. Louis is an American football long snapper and tight end who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at Southwest Missouri State.-Early years:St. Louis attended Belton High School in...
of the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
was another long snapper who, besides having already misexecuted two snaps in clutch situations in 2005 (wild card play-off game against the eventual champions Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
) and 2006, gained even bigger notoriety in 2009, when he delivered five bad snaps on either field goal or extra point attempts (leading to missed, aborted or blocked kicks) in the first five games of the season, which led to the then ten-year veteran being released from the team.