Try naming an NFL or college long snapper. Just one.
Although fanatic football fans may be able to name the long snapper on their favorite team, they probably couldn't name a second.
Virginia fans have it easier. While they might not know it, they most likely know the long snapper on field goals, senior center Zac Yarbrough. The other half of the long-snapping duo, the snapper for punts, is more of a challenge -- freshman Tyrus Gardner.
Gridirion fans can picture Martin Gramatica jumping into the air to celebrate his field goals or the disbelief and total agony of Oregon State kicker Alexis Serna, whose second extra-point miss caused the Beavers to lose to No. 4 LSU in overtime in early September. But what about the long snappers -- where do they play into field goals and punts?
"I remember the first snap I ever had here was at Wisconsin and looking between my legs and just seeing all the red," Yarbrough said. "After the first couple [snaps], you just get it under your belt. Just like any other position, it just becomes routine."
Both of Virginia's long snappers began their snapping careers in high school. Many current college and professional long snappers picked up the position as another way to crack the roster of a college team. In the case of Gardner and Yarbrough, it was their dads who convinced them to take up the role.
"I've always [long snapped], ever since I started playing football when I was in fifth or sixth grade," Yarbrough said. "It was one of the things my dad preached to me -- it would always give you an opportunity at the next level. Being a long snapper helped me enter scholarship year, and hopefully it will help me in the future."
The relative anonymity of the Virginia long snappers is probably a good thing. While field goal kickers receive all the praise for a successful boot through the uprights, long snappers, for the most part, don't enter the limelight unless they have a bad snap.
"It's something you have to be focused on, and it takes a lot of effort,"Yarbrough said.
Someone who has helped in the long snappers' development is Ryan Childress, who completed his fourth season as the team long snapper last season and graduated. Childress was 99.1 percent on placekicking snaps and 97.5 percent on punting snaps, and he even contributed on the defensive end, leading the team with 12 tackles on the punt team in 2002. Gardner, who redshirted last season, was the beneficiary of much of the graduate student's knowledge.
"I learned a lot from him -- how to handle the pressure and a lot of fundamental things about snapping," Gardner said. "It was good to play with him for a year."
For Yarbrough, this isn't entirely new territory. He was recruited as a tight end/long snapper, and as a freshman in 2001, he split time with Childress -- Yarbrough handling the placekicks and Childress managing punting snaps. Yarbrough was perfect on all 47 of his long snaps that year and began the 2002 season as the long snapper for field goals, but a hand injury turned the duties over to Childress.
While you may now be able to rattle off the people under center for the Virginia special teams, with a bit of luck, they'll remain undistinguished -- because that means they're doing their jobs.
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