The long snapper is perhaps the most overlooked and underappreciated position in football. He spends a great deal of his career bent over a football, with a guy either kneeling seven yards behind him or standing back at 15 yards. In a sense, the long snapper has one job—to go unnoticed. If he is noticed, it probably means he’s flubbed a snap—and for a long snapper, a single mistake can mean instant unemployment.
In Upside Down Football: An Inside Look at Long Snapping in the NFL, Ted Kluck shares the unique stories of these often-unseen high-pressure athletes. To fully explore the art of long snapping, Kluck attempts to perfect his own long-snapping technique, enlisting NFL snapping super-agent Kevin Gold and former longtime NFL snapper Justin Snow to help him. He also learns from elite NFL special teams coach Gary Zauner, experiences the camp circuit via snapping guru Chris Rubio, trains with snapping coach Nolan Owen, and talks with Green Beret and college snapper Nate Boyer.
Upside Down Football features in-depth interviews with players, coaches, agents, and scouts, introducing the reader to men who have snapped at the game’s highest level and to those who helped them get there. NFL and college football fans, along with long snappers of all levels, will enjoy this entertaining and enlightening perspective on the most underappreciated position in football.
