FLORHAM PARK, New Jersey – Thomas Hennessy’s journey to the NFL It started with a sudden big decision in high school.
The self-described “late bloomer” always had a very good arm, but playing quarterback didn’t seem realistic. Hennessy wanted to be part of the team at Don Bosco Preparatory in Ramsey, New Jersey, and contribute, even if it wasn’t as a starter.
Then his father suggested he try taking long photos.
“If you can throw it over the top, you can probably figure out how to throw it under for a long snap, and that’s something you might have talent for,” said the New York Jets ‘The oldest player remembered his father telling him. “So I tried it in ninth grade, kind of playing in the backyard.
“And I discovered that I had a talent for it.”
He made the team, attended long snapper camps, played at Duke, was signed by Indianapolis as an undrafted free agent in 2017 and was traded to the Jets a few months later. Hennessy, the older brother of Eagles center Matt Hennessy, has since become one of the NFL’s most consistent and reliable long snappers — a job that perhaps remains one of the most underrated in the sport.
“It has gained more recognition over the years, but is generally forgotten,” he said. “Just because of the nature of the position, pressure is taken for granted. … The league’s 32 snappers are so good that you expect every snap to be perfect.
So what does it take to be an NFL long snapper? Hennessy gave the Associated Press a step-by-step look:
“It’s very much a feel-based thing,” Hennessy said. “The mentality of every snap is perfect, but it becomes second nature where it’s something you don’t have to think about. I would say the approach is an art and I would say the actual skill is an art.”
“I’m not good at golf, but I think it’s probably very similar to a golf swing, where you’re very focused on your routine so that things are second nature and you do things exactly the same way every time . And you make sure your setup is great because it will control what the rest of the piece looks like for you.
“On punts specifically, you need to gauge the rush and maybe get an idea of the concept they are bringing to you. Will they rush you? How can it be in a hurry? It’s not just you doing your own thing. You have to think about what the other team is going to do.”
“What makes it an art is that everyone does it a little differently. For me, you hold the ball like you’re going to throw it with your right hand – I’m right-handed. lightly, like a guiding hand, as if your guiding hand were shooting a basketball free throw.
“You have your back straight and your knees bent so you can get your hamstrings in.”
“When you snap, your arms are extended, but not fully extended. And then you’re just throwing it and following it to the target to generate spin and spin and throw an accurate snap. Mechanically, on a basic level, that’s what happens.”
“The snaps are very similar, but the difference in field goals is that the snap is a little lower because the target (the holder) is 25 feet away and the target is maybe a foot or two above the ground. With a punt, it’s about 3 or 4 feet above the ground, at the punter’s belly button, about 45 feet away.”
“There is an extra focus on contact with the basket because you want the laces to be forward. People ask how snappers can control the laces on field goals because ideally the holder just picks it up and puts the laces on and they face the post, which we call ’12 o’clock laces’. He’s throwing the exact same snap every time. I don’t hold the ball by the laces, just based on my rotations. I hold it to a certain panel. And that’s to take the laces off every time.”
Hennessy said the ideal snap time for a punt is between 0.65 and 0.75 seconds.
Snaps on field goals are usually not timed because the distance is too short. Instead, the entire operation is timed from snap to kick, with an ideal time of approximately 1.3 seconds.
On a field goal, the long snapper blocks defenders while the shot is attempted.
On a punt, the long snapper completes his snap and then heads down the field with his teammates to try to tackle the returner.
And the work is done. Until the next long snap.
“It’s a lot of fun to catch and protect, and coverage is seen as a bonus for a long snapper, although a lot of long snappers are becoming more athletic and influencing the return more,” Hennessy said. “It’s really cool to be so specialized in snapping and blocking, which is great and not many people can do that. But then to cover, just like another linebacker, tight end or running back, it’s a really cool thing for you to transform into a complete football player.
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