Interview: Los Angeles talent picking up interest as one of the nation’s best long snappers
Every sport has their role players and every sport has their individual jokes about those role players. On NBA hardwood courts some big guys are just bodies sent out to pickup fouls and lean heavily on an opposing big man for 4-5 minutes a game. In MLB most starting pitchers love to give relievers a hard time about not being a pitcher but being a reliever.
The machismo testosterone filled game of football has a lot of the same good natured ribbing, as not all positions are thought of as contributing equally to the success of a team.
For years kickers and punters have been given a hard time on every other football field at every level since the field goal was introduced to the game in 1883 but as the evolution of the game has continued so has the position of the long snapper and the jokes to go along with the duty. If a player short-hops even one snap everyone is quick to criticize but what everyone forgets is the couple hundred other perfect snaps said long snapper executed without a mistake.
Winning teams are typically strong in all three phases of the game, offense, defense, and special teams. Long snapping used to be an extended job by the center producing varying results. Some of the best blooper reels in the game start off with a poorly snapped ball sailing over the head of a punter or past a field goal kicker. In today’s game the botched long snap is becoming extinct along with the former devaluation of snapping.
The reality is snappers are doing their job better now than at any other time in the game’s history. Now the sport has players whose sole purpose on the roster is to make sure every long snap is on target.
One of the best examples that comes to mind regarding the evolution of the sport on a professional level is Green Bay Packers’ Brett Goode. Goode signed as an unrestricted free agent out of Arkansas after being cut but the Jacksonville Jaguars and has been with the Packers since September 2008. With 112 regular season games under his belt he has 14 career tackles and one fumble recovery but more importantly is credited without a really bad errant snap in his seven seasons in the harsh conditions in Green Bay.
In 2012 the Packers gave Goode a three-year contract extension paying him an average of $905,000 a year, per spotrac.com. He also received a signing bonus of $325,000.
The filtration of ideals from the professional game to the college game has taken place. One Class of 2016 recruit attempting to take advantage of the heavy emphasis placed on clean snaps is Santa Monica High School’s Jacob Mimoun.
Jake is 6’3”, roughly 200 pounds, and has a wingspan of 7-feet. Not only does the Los Angeles area native have the frame to add weight and strength but more importantly he is a really good long snapper.
Still not impressed? University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban has invited Mimoun to attend a Crimson Tide camp on June 6 because of his ability to accurately get the ball to a holder or to a punter.
In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview we caught up with Jake after he attended Chris Asher’s Gold Medal Excellence one-day camp at East LA College.
Jacob, how did the 2014 season go for Santa Monica?
“We had a tough year. We were 5-5. We’d win one then lose one. We started a freshman quarterback and had two guys that we were expecting to be key contributors not be allowed to play because of transfer rules.”
How did the season go for you?
“It was my first year starting at long snapper and playing defensive end. I won the snap off early in the season and kept it throughout.”
Do you remember your snap stats?
“I connected on 104 of 106 snaps but the two off snaps are questionable. I was a perfect 23 of 23 on PATs.”
What are your goals for the 2015 football season?
“I’m hoping to start at defensive end and as the team’s long snapper. I’m really the only guy who can long snap. I’m aiming to get 100 percent on all of my snaps this year.”
I know you’ve participated in the Chris Sailer Kicking and Rubio Long Snapping events. Inform me and everyone else who may not know that much about the world of long snapping what this means.
“Chris Rubio is considered the top guy in the world on long snapping. He hosts camps all over the nation. He has four to five California camps, I think two to three in Georgia, and a bunch of other states. He hosts some of the camps with colleges. I work with one of his staff members, Jason Bertoni, he played at Arizona, one-on-one or in a group.”
What are you ranked right now in the nation?
“I’m ranked No. 50 nationally and No. 12 in the state.”
*Note: Per Chris Rubio’s Class of 2015 rankings of the Top 50 only five were “undecided” but the other 45 signed letters of intent continuing their football career and education. The list extends down the line. No. 129, Spencer Shores, signed with Tulsa. No. 136, Grant Gustafson, signed with Texas A&M and No. 140, Quinn Sonntag, signed with Texas Tech.
How are the rankings comprised?
“The rankings are hard to explain. Five percent of the ranking is off hitting your target, but that barely affected my rank. I’m really accurate. I scored the best on my accuracy. How fast you are, your athleticism, and your snap speed are all added together.”
How well have you done in the various aspects of the camp in the past?
“At the Vegas National Camp last year we had to hit a target. The top 12 get a RSI, points plus speed. I got the 13th highest RSI out of the whole camp. I ended up 31st overall because my snap speed was not that great.”
What is the ideal snap speed any long snapper is trying to hit?
“You want to get it around the low .6, low 7’s to the high 6’s.”
How do you go about improving your snap speed?
“A lot of it is your form. When you snap you have your leg and arm motion. The more you work on your form and speed the faster you’ll snap it back there. A big part of it is your form.”
What part of your form needs the most work?
“For me it’s my arm speed. That makes the ball go faster, but it’s mostly leg power. For me the faster my arms go the faster the ball.”
When is the next national camp where you can improve your ranking?
“We have a prep camp here in Los Angeles this weekend, I think it’s at Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks). Then we have the national camp the following weekend in Las Vegas.”
What is your goal for the camp in Vegas?
“I’m trying to get a ranking into the 20’s. I’d like to be part of the “Event Elite” camp. If you make the Event Elite you stay for a couple more days. I want that.”
Which schools are recruiting you right now?
“A couple of D-III schools have been in contact. Hamilton sent me something and a school in Oregon. A couple of D-II schools have sent stuff. Right after the Chris Asher Speed Camp I got a letter from Alabama asking me to come to their camp on June 6. That was really cool. I got the letter in front of the team. They were all shocked. I was smiling at all of them because they tease me about long snapping.”
What college camps do you plan on attending this year?
“I’m going to Alabama and Texas A&M. I’m going to try to go to Miami, Fresno State, and a USC camp too.”
After interviewing Jacob I reached out to the nation’s long snapping guru, Chris Rubio, getting his thoughts on his student. Chris was highly complementary of Jacob stating, “Jacob is good. The first time he came out he was gangly and awkward, and completely wrong. Once he got his form down he’s improved dramatically. He has great length. He works very hard and he’s smart. He’s improved as much as anyone I’ve had over the past two to three years.
“With Jacob I know every time he comes to a camp I can guarantee he’ll get better. He’ll implement what is being taught and use it. Nothing is lost on him. He’s a workhorse.”
Glowing remarks about one of the rising stars in the 2016 recruiting class in the long snapping field from the nation’s best long snapping instructor.
Where Jacob ends up playing his college ball will be a combination of need from respective college programs and hard work on his part. Not every college team needs a new long snapper every year but enough quality programs will be searching. If Jacob can continue on the fast track to the top of the rankings he could be snapping his way to a college scholarship for a Power Five program when fall 2016 rolls around.
Impressed now?
Written by Ryan Wright
Photo credit: Ryan Wright