For many athletes the strive for perfection overcomes the pressure to execute, for Central Catholic Long Snapper Rory Knipp, that is no different. “The most challenging part of being a long snapper is you have to be perfect every time,” Knipp said in an interview Monday. Long Snapper’s have job that mostly goes overlooked by many people, to most, they just snap the ball.

Like a surgeon, there’s no room for error, “If a kicker misses a kick once in a blue moon it’s ok. If I mess up, everyone is going to shame me,” Knipp said. “I get nervous right before every snap. Once I hit the field and touch the ball, my thoughts go away, and I clear my mind.”

Knipp has been a long snapper for a while now. Knipp said “My dad was a Long Snapper at Kent State for a year. In 4th grade he told me I was going to be a long snapper, and I said OK.” Knipp started to go to Long Snapper camps in high school and his ranking has gone up due to success in camps.

Knipp is focused on playing in college and talked about the recruiting process for a Long Snapper. “It’s probably the least played position which makes it one of the easiest to go Division 1 in.” Knipp mentioned the two main camps that colleges look at, Hammer and Kohls. Kohls is where you get your ranking. Knipp has gotten a 4 and a half star rating from Kohls and has gotten contacted from multiple schools so far in his recruiting journey.

It is a high pressure position that someone can’t make mistakes in. If a Long Snapper messes up the snap it is all their fault, but if they do their job correctly they don’t get much credit. While it’s a part of football that gets overlooked, it’s the life Long Snapper’s live. So the next time you are at a football game and see a kick, take a moment and watch the snap, because someone has spent many hours to make it as smooth as possible for the kicker to do their job.