After every National Snapping Spring Event in Las Vegas in May, I choose the Event Elite underclassmen Long Snappers. They are the best of the best out in Vegas and are selected to participate in The TOP 12 and EVENT ELITE camp during the summer. Only the true great ones are allowed to attend the TOP 12 and EVENT ELITE camp and you must do extremely well in Vegas to be considered. The percent of Long Snappers that have been invited to this camp and continued their careers into college is well over 95%!

If you make this list, you obviously can snap the ball and do it well. Now, I wanted to give you a bit of insight on them off the field. In alphabetical order….

Name: Joel Baldwin 

School: Tupelo High School

Grad Year: 2014

Ht: 6’2”

Wt: 215

GPA: 3.7

SAT/ACT: 25

Top 5 College Choices:

1. Florida

2. Mississippi State

3. Ole Miss

4. Duke

5. Vanderbilt

Hobbies:

1. Spending time with my youth group at Church

2. Long Snapping

3. Playing Tennis

What is your favorite movie? Hot Rod

What is your favorite food? Roast Beef and Rice

What is favorite motivational quote? “Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside – a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.” – Muhammad Ali

What makes you the best Long Snapper in the country? My high goals and ability to achieve those goals make me the best Long Snapper in the country. I will do everything I can to be better than the person that is in front of me.

What is one unique quality about you that not everyone might know about? I am both a Varsity Football player and a Varsity Tennis player.

Name: Aidan “AJ” Carty 

School: Servite High School

Grad Year: 2015

Ht: 6″3

Wt: 230

GPA: 3.8

SAT/ACT: n/a

Top 5 College Choices:

1. Notre Dame

2. Duke

3. Clemson

4. Michigan

5. Washington

Hobbies:

1. Snowboarding/Skiing

2. Wrestling

3. Building catapults

Favorite Movie: The Other Guys

Favorite Food: Cheeseburgers

Favorite Quote: “To infinity and beyond” – Buzz Lightyear

What makes you the best Long Snapper in the country? My determination and my attitude

What is one unique quality about you that not everyone might know? I dance when I drink milk

Name: Seth A. Combs 

School: Hononegah High School

Grad Year: 2014

Height: 5’-11”

Weight: 190

GPA: 3.0

ACT: 22 (Retake Schedule June 2013)

SAT: N/A

Top 5 College Choices:

1.) University of Minnesota

2.) Illinois State University

3.) Wisconsin

4.) University of Kentucky

5.) Northern Illinois

Hobbies:

1.) Football

2.) Weight Lifting

3.) Hanging out with friends

Favorite Movie: Invincible

Favorite Food: Buffalo wings

Favorite Quote: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard” – Tim Tebow

What makes you the best Long Snapper in the country? I have a growth mindset which allows me to see effort as the path to mastery. I embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks, learn from criticism, and find lessons and inspiration in the success of others. I also have great work ethic, along with athleticism to be able to make plays down field.

What is one unique quality about you that not everyone might know? I have a strong will. I have the will to win and the desired to succeed.

Name: JC Everett 

School: Siloam Springs High School

Grad Year: 2014

Ht: 5’10”

Wt: 247

GPA: 3.4

SAT/ACT: 26

Top 5 College Choices:

1. Arkansas

2. Ole Miss

3. Duke

4. SMU

5. Florida

Hobbies:

1. Weight Lifting

2. Working on our farm

3. Outdoor sports (hunting, fishing, etc.)

What is your favorite movie? Elf

What is your favorite food? Italian

What is favorite motivational quote? Motivation: It is not strength but desire that moves us.

What makes you the best Long Snapper in the country? My work ethic and willingness to learn. Tell me to fix anything with my snapping and consider it done.

What is one unique quality about you that not everyone might know about? I have coached two 6^th grade football teams in the past two years.

Name: Blake Ferguson 

School:

Buford High School

Grad Year: 2015

Ht: 6’3”

Wt: 230

GPA: 3.96

SAT/ACT: N/A

Top 5 College Choices:

1. LSU

2.Tennessee

3. Georgia

4. Oregon

5. Florida

Hobbies:

1. Video/Media Editing

2. Cooking

3. Weightlifting

What is your favorite movie? Braveheart

What is your favorite food? Seafood

What is favorite motivational quote? “”Success always looks easy to those who weren’t around when it was being earned.”

What makes you the best Long Snapper in the country? I believe that I am the best long snapper because I strive for excellence in everything that I do, which not only includes my long snapping abilities, but also my academic pursuits, character, and relationships with God and others.

What is one unique quality about you that not everyone might know about? I have Type 1 Diabetes. It has shown me that I have the inner drive to overcome any obstacle.

Name: Patrick Freeze 

School: Chesterton High School

Grad Year: 2014

Ht: 6’4″

Wt: 260

GPA: 2.35

SAT/ACT:

Top 5 College Choices:

1. Notre Dame

2. Western Michigan

3. USC

4. Alabama

5. Indiana State

Hobbies:

1. weightlifting

2. fishing

3. adventuring

What is your favorite movie? Remember the Titans

What is your favorite food? cinnamon rolls/donuts

What is favorite motivational quote? “Train insane or remain the same”

What makes you the best Long Snapper in the country? Size

What is one unique quality about you that not everyone might know about? I love working with the special ed kids at my school

Name: Jordan Frese

School: Keller High School

Grad Year:2014

Ht: 6″1

Wt: 200

GPA:

SAT/ACT: 1530(taking again soon)/ not taken yet

Top 5 College Choices:

1. USC

2. Houston

3. Ok St

4. San Diego St

5. A&M

Hobbies:

1. Snapping Balls

2. Getting Invited to Snapping Camps

3. Answering Questionnaire

Favorite Movie: Anchorman

Favorite Food: Beef

Favorite Quote: “If you ain’t first, you’re last”

What makes you the best Long Snapper in the country? I thrive under pressure.

What is one unique quality about you that not everyone might know? I have a very keen sense of humor.

Name: Garrett Frum 

School: Moorpark High School, CA

Grad Year: 2014

Ht:” 6’2

Wt: 230lbs

GPA:3.1

SAT/ACT: ACT:21 SAT: N/A

Top 5 College Choices:

1. Utah State

2. Cal Poly SLO

3. Fresno State

4. Oregon State

5. Washington

Hobbies:

1. Weight lifting

2. Hanging out with Friends

3. Referring youth football games

What is your favorite movie? The Pursuit of Happiness

What is your favorite Food? Steak

Favorite Quote: “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.” -Norman Vincent Peale

Why I am the best Long Snapper in the country: What makes me the best long snapper in the country is my constant hunger to achieve greatness. I take pride in my work ethic on the field and in the classroom. In addition, I train (weight lifting and snapping) harder than any other snapper in the country.

Something people may not know about me: I made Marmonte League finals in shot put this year (2013). I dedicate two Saturday afternoons a month to the “Take 5” organization helping disabled children for the last two years.

Name: Justin Garza  

School: Carlsbad High School

Grad Year: 2014

Ht:” 5’11

Wt: 210lbs

GPA:3.67

SAT/ACT: 1560

Top 5 College Choices:

1. Ohio State

2. SDSU

3. Kansas State

4. ASU

5. Colorado

Hobbies:

1. Umpiring

2. Dirt Biking/Wake Boarding

3. Hiking

What is your favorite movie? Into the Wild

What is your favorite Food? Mexican/BBQ

Favorite Quote: 

1. Win The Day

2.If  you don’t fall your not trying hard enough

3. You can be a bad loser or you can be a good loser but your still a loser so don’t Lose

4. Live Life, Love Life, Live it Long

 

Why I am the best Long Snapper in the country: The qualities that make me the best long snapper in the world are my abilities to take directions and criticism and use them to my advantage. I’m the hardest working and dedicated player/student that you can find. I will never stop training and trying to improve in every aspect. I snap a very fast ball and my accuracy and consistency have improved greatly and is almost dialed in. I’m Extremely Athletic. That is what makes we the best long snapper in the country.

Something people may not know about me: I love photography and I’m also very good at it.

Name: Mitchell Jon Hardy 

School: Muskego High School, Muskego, WI

Grad Year: 2014

Ht: 6 ft 2 in

Wt: 245 lbs

GPA: 3.4

SAT/ACT: 20 (retaking June 8th, 2013 at Muskego High School)

Top 5 College Choices:
1. Wisconsin
2. Minnesota
3. Ball State
4. Illinois
5. Navy

Hobbies:
1. Watching Deadliest Catch
2. Hanging out with friends
3. Working on my 2000 Chevy Silverado

What is your favorite movie? Dodgeball, A True Underdog Story

What is your favorite food? Buffalo Chicken Wings

What is favorite motivational quote? Seven days without training makes a weak one

What makes you the best Long Snapper in the country? I feel that my drive and dedication to the craft is what makes me the best long snapper in the country. I am always working on my form and doing whatever I can to get bigger, stronger and faster.

What is one unique quality about you that not everyone might know about? I work at a Movie Theatre

Name: Nate Hawkins 

School: St. Thomas Aquinas High School, OH

Grad Year: 2014

Ht: 6’1″

Wt: 225

GPA: 3.43

ACT: Taking in June 2013

Top 5 College Choices
1. Notre Dame
2. Rutgers
3. Florida State
4. UCLA
5. Colorado State

Hobbies
1. Skiing
2. Golf (Links and Disc)
3. Lifting

Favorite Movie: Rudy

Favorite Food: Anything with my Mom’s pasta sauce, especially Ravioli.

Favorite Quote: “Find a way to win” – Msgr. Lewis Gaetano

Why I am the best Long Snapper in the country: I am determined to do my best. I will find every possible way to get better, and I strive to make every single snap better than the last.

Something people may not know about me: I like to watch professional cycling.

Name: Joe Lang 

School: Pullman High School

Grad Year: 2014

Ht:6’3″

Wt: 225 Lbs

GPA: 3.52

SAT/ACT: Signed up June 1st (SAT) and June 8th (ACT)

Top 5 College Choices:

1. Illinois

2. UW

3. WSU

4. Arizona

5. Montana St.

Hobbies:

1. Cooking

2. Golfing

3. Playing Cards

What is your favorite movie? My favorite movie is The Intouchables. (French movie)

What is your favorite food? My favorite food is teriyaki chicken with white rice.

What is favorite motivational quote? “If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there you must go beyond them.” -Bruce Lee

What makes you the best Long Snapper in the country? My humility; it allows me to create standards for myself. Standards hold me and only me accountable for everything I do. My standards go above any goal I would ever set for myself. Being humble fuels my desire to always work towards the next level, and approach every task with relentless determination.

What is one unique quality about you that not everyone might know about? Through hardships I have encountered in my life, I have become altruistic, due to the need to put my family’s well being before my own.

Name: John Morrison 

School: Pace Academy (Atlanta, GA)

Grad Year: 2014

Ht: 5’11”

Wt: That’s not important (171)

GPA: 95

SAT/ACT: 2210/33

Top 5 College Choices:

1. Alabama

2. Cornell

3. Yale

4. Georgia

5. Harvard

Hobbies:

1. Any kind of exercise– hiking, lifting, etc.

2. Playing guitar

3. Seeing new places and doing new things

What is your favorite movie? Forrest Gump or Talladega Nights

What is your favorite food? Pizza, but it has to have good crust. The crust can make or break a pizza.

What is favorite motivational quote?

“It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.” – from “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley

What makes you the best Long Snapper in the country? I have a drive to practice harder and more effectively than any other snapper in the country. Every day I make sure I am improving each aspect of my game, from my technique, to my physical fitness, to my mental readiness. When I finish high school, I want to be the most dependable long snapper in the country, and I do everything within my power to make that goal a reality. I also have the advantage of speed and mobility that makes me ideal for punt coverage.

Name: Kyle Murphy 

School: Ardrey Kell High School

Grad Year: 2014

Ht: 6′ 3”

Wt: 230

GPA: 3.4

SAT/ACT: 1550/23

Top 5 College Choices:
1. Ole Miss
2. Tennessee
3. Clemson
4. UNC
5. NC State

Hobbies (name only three please):
1. Working out
2. Fishing
3. Golf

What is your favorite movie? Sahara

What is your favorite food? Steak

What is favorite motivational quote? “Whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right” -Henry Ford

What makes you the best Long Snapper in the country? Out working everybody else in the country , having goals and being driven towards them, and always being able to stay mentally in control.

What is one unique quality about you that not everyone might know about? I once hit a full court shot in a game and I also once threw a no hitter.

 

Name: Chris Nieto 

School: Segerstrom High School

Grad Year: 2014

Ht:” 6’4

Wt: 205

GPA: 3.2

SAT/ACT: N/A

Top 5 College Choices:
1. UCLA
2. Colorado
3. Notre Dame
4. San Diego State
5. USC

Hobbies (name only three please):
1. Basketball
2. Music
3. Video Games

What is your favorite movie? Remember the Titans

What is your favorite food? Steak

What is favorite motivational quote? What we do in life echos in Eternity.

What makes you the best Long Snapper in the country? I feel I am the best long snapper because I am calm and smooth with my approach. I also can get down field and make a play as well. I have been long snapping competitively since I was 9 years old in Pop Warner and now in High School. No situation rattles me. Snapping into the end zone or any situtation. I am always calm and collective.

What is one unique quality about you that not everyone might know about? A unique quality I have is I am also a 3 year varsity starter for my High School basketball team.

 

Name: Christian Samarzich 

School: Upland High School – Upland, California

Grad Year: 2014

Ht:” 6’2

Wt: 213

GPA: 3.2

SAT/ACT: June 1st taking for 1st time

Top 5 College Choices:
1. Nevada Reno
2. University of Southern California
3. Montana State
4. Colorado State
5. Portland State

Hobbies (name only three please):
1. Photography
2. Training and Working Out
3. Eating and sleeping

What is your favorite movie? tie–The Dark Knight and Step Brothers

What is your favorite food? Sushi and Pizza

What is favorite motivational quote? It ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. ROCKY

What makes you the best Long Snapper in the country? The 3 D’s — my Desire, Drive and Dedication

What is one unique quality about you that not everyone might know about? I have a new car and don’t have a drivers license yet.

Name: Wyatt Tucker Smith

School: Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

Grad Year: December, 2013

Ht: 6’3″

Wt: 234lbs

GPA: 3.16

ACT: 21

Top 5 College Choices:

1. Baylor

2. Oregon

3. Georgia

4. Ole Miss

5. Washington

Hobbies (name only three please):

1. Water Sports

2. Basketball

3. Playing Guitar

What is your favorite movie? Good Will Hunting

What is your favorite food? Pasta of any kind.

What is favorite motivational quote? “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

What makes you the best Long Snapper in the country? My combination of size and athletic ability is as good as any in the country. The fact that i am never completely satisfied also fuels me. I strive every day to improve in football and life.

What is one unique quality about you that not everyone might know about? I plan to major in Education and Coaching in order to help kids get on the right track out of high school, and surround students with positive influences on and off of the football field.

Name: Tom Sullivan 

School: Wheaton Warrenville South High School

Grad Year: 2014

Ht: 6’0″

Wt: 225lbs

GPA: 4.8

ACT: 30

Top 5 College Choices:

1. Boston College

2. Duke

3. Northwestern

4. Cal

5. Penn

Hobbies (name only three please):

1. Magic Tricks

2. Golf

3. Lifting Weights

What is your favorite movie? School of Rock

What is your favorite food? Wings

What is favorite motivational quote? “Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t”- Jerry Rice

What makes you the best Long Snapper in the country? I am confident, and want to win more than anyone else. I accept nothing but perfection, and will do anything to get to it. I am not afraid of any one on one challenge to prove I am the best.

What is one unique quality about you that not everyone might know about? I’m a sucker for Disney musicals.

Name: Adam Vaught

School: Blacksburg High School, Blacksburg, VA

Grad Year: 2014

Ht:” 6’7

Wt: 240 lbs

GPA: 2.7

SAT/ACT: 1320

Top 5 College Choices:

1. Ole Miss

2. NC State

3. South Carolina

4. Elon

5. Tennessee Tech

Hobbies:

1. Following college and professional football
2. Basketball
3. Water Sports

What is your favorite movie? Forrest Gump

What is your favorite food? Grandma’s Apple Pie

What is favorite motivational quote? “When writing your life story, don’t let somebody else hold the pen”-Anonymous

What makes you the best Long Snapper in the country? I believe I am the best long snapper in the country because I understand how important the role of long snapper is to a football team. I know that hard work and determination is the only way to succeed. I do not believe I am a perfect long snapper, because perfection means I can never get better. I am the best long snapper in the country because I am not perfect, but I will never stop trying to be.

What is one unique quality about you that not everyone might know about? I have a great sense of humor and love to laugh.

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