Today, we are featuring Rubio Long Snapper Evan Jacobsen!
What is your occupation? I am a pastor at Compass Bible Church
Where do you live? We live in New Braunfels, Texas. We moved here from Southern California to help plant a new church!
Married? Kids? I married Candice in 2018. We have two kids — Theodore (4) and Elisabeth (1). Being a husband and dad is one of the greatest gifts in my life. Coming home to them each day — even the epic wrestling matches — is something I treasure.
What is your fondest memory of your time playing college football? Coming to saving faith in Christ. That changed everything — not just in football, but in life. I also got to build deep friendships with teammates who were serious about following Jesus. Playing at Kyle Field as a freshman was unforgettable, but those day-to-day moments with my brothers in Christ are what I treasure most.
If you could give ONE bit of advice to the current Rubio Long Snappers, what would it be? Snapping PARENTS, what would it be?
Put God first. Everything else — football, scholarships, championships, even long snapping itself — will eventually end. What won’t end is eternity. The most important question isn’t where you’ll play next, but where you’ll spend forever. And the only way to be right with God is through Jesus Christ — not by earning it, but by trusting in the One who paid for our sin at the cross.
I learned that the hard way. Football was my identity. I worked hard, trained almost everyday, earned a starting spot, and thought success would satisfy me. It didn’t. When we kept losing, I was miserable. Eventually, I didn’t just want to quit football — I wanted to quit everything. I had made football my everything, and when it couldn’t deliver peace, I was left empty.
But God, in His grace, confronted me. He showed me who I really was — not a child of God, but someone playing for himself and rebelling against Him. That moment broke me… and it saved me. I repented, surrendered my life to Jesus, and found something I never had before: peace. Not in performance, but in grace.
And here’s the surprising part — I didn’t lose my drive. I snapped harder. I cared more. I become more focused and determined to be the best long snapper. But this time, it wasn’t about me. I played for the One who saved me. Our record didn’t improve — we still went 1–11. But I wasn’t shaken. When the NFL door closed, I wasn’t crushed. I was grounded. Because I knew where my real hope was.
Parents, players — please hear this. The joy and freedom I’ve found in Christ, and the joy my parents now share with me, far outweighs any game.
Action step:
Open the Gospel of John. Ask God to show you who He really is. If something’s stirring in your heart, don’t brush it off. Your identity, peace, and future are too important to leave in the hands of a scoreboard.
When was the last time you snapped a ball and for what reason? September 2024 — just to show a group of high school students I could still do it! They were impressed but I was in pain… yet I refused to show my pain. I still do my snap ups, my son sees it as a fun game to try and grab the ball in the air.
If you could go back and play football in college again, would you go to the same school or a different one? Why? Same school — 100%. It’s where God opened my eyes to who I really was and the place where God introduced to me some of my closest friends. I would change the way I approached going to the school I went to. My parents and I did not pray at all about my decision, and we regret that the most.
Any regrets during college? Anything you wish you had done or hadn’t done? Yes — not putting God first. I ignored solid advice, wasted time, and chased success for myself. But God, in His mercy, redeemed those regrets and gave them purpose.
What tremendous thing have you been a part of or experienced since you graduated? Following Jesus, hands down. Everything good in my life flows from that — seeing the joy of my friends getting married, starting families and faithfully following Jesus, getting married myself, fatherhood, friendships, and helping plant a church. Watching lives transform, broken relationships heal, marriages recover, and people live a new life by the gospel of Jesus Christ is far greater than anything I experienced on the field.
Rubio Long Snapping is, by far, the biggest and best resource for Long Snappers in the country. Rubio has been featured in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the USA Today, Deadspin, Sports Illustrated and countless other publications.
Offering the best instruction and most exposure in the world, Rubio Long Snapping can help you to become the best snapper you can be!
In just 20 years, Chris Rubio, President and Owner of Rubio Long Snapping, has become the #1 Long Snapping instructor in the country and the go-to man when a college coach needs a Long Snapper. Colleges from across the country rely on “Rubio’s” word day in and day out on who the best Long Snappers are in the country. Rubio Long Snapping has assisted in over 1,850 Long Snappers earning full scholarships and preferred walk-on opportunities to major colleges and universities just for Long Snapping and many into the NFL as well.
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