Today marks roughly the halfway point of the countdown that started with Day 99 in Ryan Russell. Seven weeks from tomorrow the Darrell Hazell era begins in Cincinnati, so let's celebrate by learning about the most laid-back position on the team: Long Snapper
Jesse Schmitt - Jr.
Louisville, Kentucky (Trinity HS)
6'2", 250 pounds
Long Snapper
2013 Projection: Starter at Long snapper
Two of the best players to follow on Twitter in recent years have been John Finch and Kevin Ballinger. They were the previous long snappers before Schmitt and Ballinger took it a step further by having a moderately successful blog called Snapping Necks.
They are gone, leaving Schmitt to take over as the role of the team's jokester. When you're a specialist there is often little to do in games until you get in for one play every 15 minutes or so at best, but Schmitt does well at his job. he was the rare recruited long snapper and was highly rated as a result. While Ballinger handled PATs and field goals in 2011 when Schmitt was a freshman Schmitt was primarily used on punts. He played in all 13 games each of the last two seasons, which very few guys can say.
Schmitt was even credited with two tackles last season, hustling down field to close out a punt. He had the same during the 2011 season too.
Schmitt won three straight high school state championships before getting a runner-up finish as a senior. He is also a former teammate of incoming running back Dalyn Dawkins. Schmitt is good enough he could get a serious NFL look if things continue going well.