It’s the most invisible position in football, if not all of sports.

Those in the position go without acknowledgment—save for a mistake. They may not ever win a game for their team, but the slightest error can lose one.

Such is life for the long snapper, a crucial job that requires a unique combination of technique, strength and mental fortitude.

There is no praise involved. No highlights on social media or post-game reporting. A thankless, critical skill that everyone takes for granted.

Arizona: Long Snapper ‘U’?

Due to the anonymous nature of the position, most prep football fans aren’t aware that Arizona has evolved into a hotbed of sorts for long snappers.

‘Long snapper U’ will probably never catch on, but the fact is that current and former long snappers all over Division I football—and even the NFL—have come from Arizona.

Like all other positions, long snappers can now earn 4 and 5 star labels along with national ratings. And as another football season gets underway, the nation’s top two long snappers hail from the Phoenix metropolis.

Pinnacle senior Alan Soukup has held the top rating for most of this calendar year. Red Mountain’s Cannon Skidmore climbed to the No. 2 rating after an impressive summer of national competitions.

Most of the competitions are sponsored by Kohl’s, Under Armour and ESPN. Highland’s Ty Smith and Valley Christian’s Cal Keeler are rated No. 13 and 14, respectively, heading into the fall season.

All four participated in Kohl sponsored events, which for long snappers, is necessary for exposure to college coaches.

At the National Scholarship Camp competition in Tennessee, Soukup showed why he held the No. 1 ranking, while Skidmore’s performance vaulted him from No. 9 to his current No. 2 ranking.

The result for both is a trip to play in the Under Armour All-American Bowl in Orlando the first week of January, along with all the five star and highest recruited players in the country.

For those who were unaware that national ratings, competitions and even scholarships existed for long snappers, don’t feel bad. It’s a niche position that has evolved over the last two decades.

What was once a nuisance filled by a reluctant roster player is now a specialized niche; to the point that many of the biggest college football programs offer full ride scholarships to long snappers for that exclusive role.

Times have certainly changed.

“It’s really astonishing to me,” says Dale Hellestrae, the Saguaro High alum and longtime former Dallas Cowboy long snapper/offensive lineman. “In my time nobody was offering scholarships based solely on long snapping.”

Hellestrae is widely regarded as one of the NFL’s best long snappers of all time.

He also represents the old school path to long snapping at the highest level: by volunteering or being asked to. He excelled as an offensive lineman at Southern Methodist University, and eventually his 6-foot-5 inch, 280-pound frame and SMU career got him drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1985 as an offensive tackle.

It just so happened that Hellestrae moonlighted as a long snapper going back to his Pop Warner days in Scottsdale and continued through college. Not that anyone cared about his long snapping skills.

“The Bills really had no idea I could long snap, so I had to tell them I could. And I had to ask the team for an NFL football so I could practice on my own,” Hellestrae explained.

“Long snapping wasn’t something kids grew up dreaming about doing. There is no glamour in long snapping, only potential embarrassment for screwing up. In my case, long snapping extended my NFL career by five or six years.”

His long snapping efficiency also brought him three Super Bowl rings.

In 1990, the Dallas Cowboys traded a draft pick in exchange for Hellestrae. He was still valued as a lineman, but by that time, the Cowboys were aware of his value long snapping, and had every intention of using him in this role.

As Hellestrae mentioned, long snappers were never sought out with that singular purpose. The common method at the college and NFL level was finding a tight end or other lineman who could prove reliable enough for the job. Over time, the need for top level efficiency grew, and now the nation’s top long snappers are sometimes able to earn a full ride scholarship for that exclusive role.

Soukup and Skidmore represent the progression of the position, and like so many other successful long snappers from Arizona, their development and recruiting processes followed a common path: that of coaching specialist Ben Bernard, who has helped over 100 long snappers from the Phoenix area develop the skill to play at the collegiate level and the NFL.

Snap Decision Leads to the Hoosier State

Soukup’s story goes back to elementary school flag football days when he often played center and receiver.

By seventh grade he developed a fondness for the position.

“In flag football the center is always an eligible receiver, but most kids struggled snapping shotgun style. For some reason I developed a fondness for it, and it became second nature,” Soukup explains.

It was his seventh grade year when things would get serious for Soukup.

That’s when he found Bernard, who has developed a reputation as an elite long snapping coach, possibly the best in the country. Like many of the state’s top long snappers, Soukup looked to Bernard in hopes of developing his skill long term.

Soukup got an earlier start than most, but nevertheless, his time, dedication, and parental sacrifice paid off. Last season was Soukup’s first snapping for Pinnacle’s varsity team, but he had already landed on the radar of many college coaches through success at Kohl’s competition and others. Among the most interested was USC, which offered Soukup a full ride earlier this year.

Soukup resisted the glitz and glamour of USC, and accepted an offer from Indiana University, a part of the country that feels more like a second home to Soukup, whose parents are both Kansas University alums.

“It was pretty amazing getting an offer from USC, but when it came down to it, I went with my heart,” Soukup explains. “We moved to Arizona when I was three, but my parents still have a lot of family living in the Midwest, and where I was born, so when I got an offer from Indiana, it felt right and made the most sense for me. I feel fortunate the way things have worked out.”

Now Soukup can concentrate on Pinnacle’s upcoming season, where they will try to get back to Sun Devil Stadium after losing to Highland in the 6A title game last December. The senior also looks forward to catching passes this season from the tight end position.

From 140 pounds to Five Stars

Red Mountain's Cannon Skidmore warms up before a game last season. The senior is the nation's No. 2 rated long snapper and was chosen to play in the Under Armour All-American Bowl. (Photo by Dan Kent/yzbluephotography)

Cannon Skidmore’s path is somewhat similar to Soukup’s, and one which his parents would’ve never believed two years ago.

The Red Mountain senior had a belief—and a plan. Fast forward to the fall of 2024, he’ll be long snapping for Brigham Young University.

Despite plenty of attention and offers from schools like Washington, San Diego St. and others, Skidmore describes BYU as his dream scenario.

As a 140-pound freshman at Red Mountain, Skidmore realized there weren’t many teammates begging to long snap for the freshman team. He volunteered and won the job.

“I really ended up liking it, and I spent a lot of time on my own practicing,” Skidmore explains. “After that season is when the pieces would be put in place.”

Skidmore sought out advice and instruction from then-Chandler High long snapper Hank Pepper, currently long snapping for Michigan State.

“Hank gave me a few lessons on the basics, and then recommended me to Ben Bernard, who he had done a lot of work with,” Skidmore said.

It would be a year before Skidmore connected with Bernard, but it was part of the plan.

Skidmore had grown physically and had the skill to snap for Red Mountain’s varsity as a sophomore in 2021. It was at that point he sat down with his parents and laid out a plan, as it would take sacrifice from both ends, with the private coaching and travel.

“At that point my parents thought I was a little crazy, but I felt I could take it somewhere.”

That’s when Skidmore went to work with Bernard and started hitting the national events, showcasing his talent and getting the attention of special teams’ coaches from prominent schools in the western part of the country. It only helped that Skidmore grew to 6-foot-2 and 205-pounds, giving him more arm span and power.

“Once I got with coach Bernard is when things really went to the next level,” Skidmore explains.

Bernard’s fingerprints are all over the country.

One of Skidmore’s first major offers came from Washington, where the timing and familiarity worked for all sides. Washington’s current long snapper, Jaden Green, is entering his fourth season at UW. Green also played football at Mesa High, but didn’t take up long snapping until his junior year, when he went to, who else, Ben Bernard.

Within one year, Green went from a novice snapper to Under Armor All-American under the tutelage of Bernard, who seems to have a magic touch in the obscure world of long snapping. But there’s a method to the madness—and art—of long snapping.

For long snappers wanting to take their skill to the collegiate level, it’s literally a matter of split seconds. Accuracy is obviously the key at the high school level.

For collegiate special teams' coaches, they have a need for speed. For a long snapper to reach the D-1 college level, velocity becomes as important to a long snapper as it does for a pitcher and his fastball.

It could mean the difference between a blocked punt or a 50-60 yard punt and field position advantage. For the long snaps to the punter, collegiate coaches like to see a velocity in which it takes no more than .7 seconds to reach the target.

Skidmore and Soukup were consistently at .66 in their 2023 competitions. With the All-American Bowl on the line, Skidmore was clocked with one of his snaps at .65 at the National Scholarship Camp competition.

Those split seconds can make a world of difference, and in the case of a long snapper, four years on the grand stage of college football. Skidmore was elated that a program like Washington was offering a scholarship.

Other offers came in, but deep down, Provo was Skidmore’s ideal destination. With an LDS upbringing and extended family in the Salt Lake area, BYU is familiar territory, much like Soukup’s midwestern roots and family ties. Within a few months, the BYU dream became reality.

“When I got serious about this and had my parents support, I knew it could get me somewhere, but I had no idea it would take me to my ideal destination (BYU) playing in the Big-12,” he said.

With his college future set, Skidmore is focused on helping his Red Mountain team make another deep playoff run.

He will also contribute as a tight end and receiver, where he had 17 receptions as a junior, including a pair of touchdowns during Red Mountain’s playoff run to the 6A semifinals.

“It’s been a great journey with the long snapping, and now my focus is with the team and the season,” Skidmore said.