Coach’s internet post draws fire
December 13, 2016
Mailbag Version 3.0: Checking out the world of sports
December 13, 2016
Ninety-nine times out of 100, it’s bad news when announcers talk about a long snapper during a football game, because it usually means they sailed an errant snap and/or missed an assignment that led to a blocked kick.
But a few weeks ago, South Terrebonne graduate and Southern long snapper David-Michael Carrell was the rare exception – that one time when a long snapper is actually given credit for his athletic ability.
Carrell made a big play in the Bayou Classic, trucking down the field after a well-placed snap and then recovering a fumble – a turnover that gave the ball back to the Jaguars and set up a touchdown drive.
The former Gator said the recovery was the icing on the cake in what he believes was a solid sophomore season with the Jaguars.
He said he’s loving the competition at the college level, adding that he’s proud to be a Jaguar – especially after the team’s eight-win season in 2016.
“Southern is a great experience for anybody,” Carrell said. “I’m enjoying my time at the school in a big way. I’ve met people from all walks of life, and I have made many great friends, including our kicker, Ruan Albuquerque. My career overall has been great.”
Carrell said he relishes doing the dirty work to help his team win.
Long-snapping is not a glorious profession, but it is an acquired skill that takes God-given ability and hours and hours of work to perfect.
For non-football fans, Carrell’s primary job is to snap the football from the line of scrimmage to the punter on punting plays – a distance that is about 12-15 yards, depending on a coach’s philosophy.
Everything Carrell does has to be perfect or the entire play is ruined, which could literally cost Southern a game.
The snap has to get there fast enough to give the punter/kicker time to get off the kick, but it also has to be accurate enough to hit the punter/holder in the hands.
On punting plays, Carrell’s job is to trek down the field to stop punt returns, which often requires him to attempt to make a tackle.
Carrell said he loves his position, touting that he takes pride in being the guy who never gets publicity, nor credit on a job well done.
“It’s a high-stress position,” Carrell said. “It’s a position that isn’t known by the average football fan. It’s funny. It makes you wonder sometimes if people think the ball just magically gets back to the holder and the punter.”
It’s also a position that isn’t always worked on – even in practice.
Carrell conceded that his practice days are sometimes lighter than that of the average football player, because he’s only asked to work when the Jaguars are completing special teams – a unit that might only get 15 or 20 percent of the reps on a given day.
When the team is working on offense or defense, Carrell said he takes initiative and works on conditioning work or other drills that help him to perfect his snapping technique.
But the specialists also have a little fun, too, according to Carrell, who said they’re one of the tightest-knit units on the entire team.
“We put in our time,” Carrell said. “We do little drills, such as working on our technique or working on our timing of our operation. But with two hours of free time every practice, eventually, we end up cutting up a little and enjoying ourselves.”
Doing extra work is something Carrell said he prides himself on. It’s why he believes he’s the long snapper he is today.
Carrell said when he graduated from South Terrebonne, he weighed 280 pounds, which made him too bulky to be the player he wanted to be.
“It led to some inconsistencies in my snaps,” he said.
So in the offseason, Carrell worked out at the Terrebonne General Medical Center’s Community Sports Institute, putting in countless hours with trainers Zach Voss and Gabe Barahona to keep fit.
Today, Carrell is down to 240 pounds, and he said the enhanced mobility has allowed him to do his job better than ever.
In the 2016 season, the Jaguars were near the top of the SWAC in their special teams execution.
In addition to the off-field work, Carrell is also a classroom whiz, who is looking to complete a four-year history degree in three years.
“That work this past summer helped tremendously,” Carrell said. “I’m now snapping very consistently and I’ve become an asset, instead of a liability on our coverage for punts.”
That mobility was on display in the Bayou Classic, when Carrell beat everyone down the field and fell on top the football to make a game-changing play.
Carrell said competing in the Bayou Classic is something he will never forget – an experience he will tell his kids and grandkids about in the future.
He said the rush of adrenaline he experienced while hearing the crowd in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome go wild after his fumble recovery is a feeling that can’t be described, nor replicated.
“The Bayou Classic is absolutely electric,” Carrell said. “With 67,845 people packed into the Superdome this year, it was as loud as I’d imagine a football game can get. The sheer magnitude of the game what what it does for Historically Black Colleges and Universities involved is great. … It was a great feeling to make a play in that game.” •
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