James Wilhoit’s ‘On A Specialist’s Path’
The recruitment of long snappers for high school and college coaches can often be an afterthought. Sometimes even for the long snappers themselves.
Morgan Cox (pictured above), a long snapper who is graduating from the University of Tennessee, has the opportunity to be making millions of dollars snapping in the NFL. But had it not been for a few twists and turns of fate, he might be holding a very different view of his future.
Morgan’s resume as a snapper is very impressive. He has been a three year starter for the University of Tennessee handling the field goal and punt snaps. Since concluding this year’s football season at UT, he attended the prestigious 2010 Under Armour Senior Bowl and was also selected as one of the top snapper’s at Coach Zauner’s 2010 College Senior Specialists Combine.
This Saturday –during the 2010 NFL Draft- he will be sitting on pins and needles while waiting to see if he is a late round draft pick, or will be an undrafted free agent.
I have always thought Morgan was a very talented snapper; but he is an even better person. I have had the privilege of being his friend, and I have seen much of his path as a kicking specialists first hand (Morgan pictured below snapping to Ray Guy Award winner Drew Butler). I am honored to share his path as a specialist.
Morgan got his start as a snapper in the 5th grade when his youth football coach called all the players on his team and had an open tryout to find a long snapper. They ask those interested to snap one at a time. When it was Morgan’s turn, he did not perform well.
His father, Wright, happened to be attending his practice that day and offered him a few tips. Morgan, being the competitive person he is, went back to the coach a few minutes later and asked for an additional tryout.
The coach, impressed with Morgan’s determination, let him have another shot at it. This time –with his father’s tips in hand- he did so well the coach was impressed enough to make him the starting snapper.
And that is how Morgan’s got his start as a long snapper.
Morgan was like most kids in that he really enjoyed all types of sports growing up. He played baseball, basketball, golf, tennis, and football. As he continued to participate in a variety of sports he also was working on his snapping. And his dad kept on providing Morgan with snapping tips.
“My dad started to ask around and do research on long snapping instruction, and I worked with a few people around the area,” Morgan said.
When Morgan entered high school he focused solely on football at Evangelical Christian High School in Memphis. He played on the offensive and defensive line over the first few years of his career, while he continued to work on his snapping. He didn’t get an opportunity to snap until his junior year.
And Morgan said his opportunity came only by chance.
“I was in my junior year, and was still waiting to get my opportunity,” he said. “Then, on the very first game of the season, the starting snapper snapped the ball over the head of the punter. From that point, I became the starting snapper.”
After finishing out the season as the starting snapper for his team Morgan started to seek more advice about his snapping. A family friend of his knew Ethan Albright (pictured above), who is going into his 16th season as a long snapper for the Washington Redskins, and Morgan contacted him for advice. After a phone conversation Ethan took the time to meet Morgan and watch him snap.
“Ethan worked with me going into my senior year of high school,” said Morgan. “He understood that all snappers have their own style so he did not try to change much of my snapping, but he gave me quite a bit of feedback on my speed and accuracy. His advice really gave me confidence in my long snapping ability.”
Morgan also went to the University of Tennessee Kicking and Snapping Camp his senior year. He attended the camp to both improve his snapping and to be recruited.
“I never thought of being a long snapper in college until after the Tennessee Camp my senior year,” he said.
At the Tennessee Camp Morgan won the accuracy contest and Graduate Assistant Coach, Geep Wade -now a coach at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga- left a voicemail that Morgan and his family will remember for the rest of his life.
“My family and I were just coming back to the house from spending the day together,” said Morgan. “And upon getting home and checking the messages on our phone, we found one from Coach Wade which said, ‘this is Geep Wade from the University of Tennessee. And we’d like you to come up here and snap for us.”
“This was the moment I knew that I actually had a chance to do this in college,” Morgan said.
In Fall of 2005, Morgan entered his freshman year as a preferred walk on at the University of Tennessee. The road to being the starting snapper at Tennessee was not always a straight one though.
“The very first time I got thrown in on punt team my freshman year I snapped the ball back to the punter and David Yancey, reserve running back, did not allow me to get past the line of scrimmage to cover the punt.” Adding, “this was my first taste of college football.”
Morgan knew that he needed to improve his technique as a snapper and also needed to add both bulk and strength if he was going to have a chance at the line of scrimmage.
“I didn’t have to think about much else but snapping in high school, but I really had to adapt to both the new level of athletes, and the details involved with scheme and protection it took to play College Football,” Morgan said.
The two starting long snappers at Tennessee were Adam Miles, who handled field goals, and Ryan West who handled the punts. Morgan took advice from each snapper to develop his style of snapping.
“Adam Miles and Ryan West taught me about what I should be doing, and why I should be doing it,” said Morgan. “I mirrored my field goal snaps from what Adam was doing and did the same with Ryan on punt snaps. They were a big part of my development.”
Morgan redshirted in the 2005 season and Ryan West handled the field goal and punt snaps in 2006. So the 2007 season was Morgan’s first year as a starter at Tennessee. His first game was against the University of California. It started out with a bang, but not in a good way.
“On my first snap, I had the luck to have DeSean Jackson downfield, who on the first play of my career, returned the punt 77 yards for a touchdown.”
After the first play of the season things got much better for he and the team as Tennessee made the SEC Championship (pictured above) and Morgan was an integral part of a game winning kick against South Carolina and an important victory in a 52-50 victory over Kentucky in 4 overtimes.
His career at Tennessee was one of great highs with the SEC Championship appearance and some lows including the 2008 season, where the team finished with a 5-7 record and Coach Phillip Fulmer was fired after the season.
Lane Kiffin (pictured below) was hired to to replace Fulmer in December of 2008 and Morgan played for him in the 2009 season.
“I enjoyed playing for Coach Kiffin and his staff,” said Morgan. “He brought a lot of energy to the program and had a different style than I had experienced before.”
Morgan said Coach Kiffin talked a lot of ‘trash’ to other teams and the media. “So it almost forced myself and the team to buy in to him because we felt the responsibility to back up all the talk.”
Morgan also believes that Coach Kiffin now has a new respect for special teams after this season.
“Coach Kiffin was not as hands on with special teams as Coach Fulmer,” said Morgan. “I believe he relied on the Special Teams Coach to do all the coaching, but I think he will put much more emphasis on it now at USC.”
Morgan believes that his college experience was very valuable and he gained a lot of life lessons from playing football and attending the University of Tennessee.
“I would not change a thing in regards to my college career,” said Morgan. I gained friendships and connection that I can take with me my entire life”.
Having finished his last game at Tennessee in the 2009 Chick Fi La Bowl against Virginia Tech, Morgan has been on a hectic schedule.
This spring he has been in the process of finishing up his master’s degree in Sports Management, while completing an internship at the Tennessee football office. He has been conducted the internship while training and pursuing opportunities to be seen by the NFL.
In late January he was invited to the 2010 Under Armour Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama (picture above). This event is held for the top senior football players in the country, and Morgan was one of two snappers invited to the event.
During the same week he was coached by the Miami Dolphins coaching staff including Coach John Bonamego, Special Teams Coordinator for the Dolphins.
“It was great getting to work with an NFL Special Teams Coach,” said Morgan. “They taught us a lot of the ‘tricks of the trade’ and I believe what I learned will help me as I try to make it in the NFL.”
Working with the coaches on the field was only half of the equation though as there were interviews with most of the NFL Teams and the dreaded ‘weigh in’ that most players describe as being treated like a ‘piece of meat’.
“At the weigh in I had to strip down to spandex compression shorts and walk up on a stage where they measured my height and weight,” said Morgan. “There are over 700 scouts and personnel people writing down what they think of your body. It can be a little nerve wracking but I was actually excited about the experience because I weighed in at a good weight of 248 pounds.”
In February, Morgan attended Coach Zauner’s College Senior Specialists Combine (pictured below). He performed very well at the Combine (which I like to attribute to the fact that he stayed with me while he was there), and Coach Zauner recommended him to a few NFL teams, and sent a copy of his workout to all NFL, CFL, and UFL teams.
“Coach Zauner’s Combine was a great event,” said Morgan. “I got to meet quite a few long snappers at that I have kept in touch with throughout the process. It was really a great experience.”
As I spent time with Morgan over the 3 days he was in Arizona I noticed how meticulous and organized he was for the NFL. He hired mega agent, Jimmy Sexton, to represent him and had really started to treat his snapping as a business. While preparing for the NFL he has continued to work hard in the weight room and has even gained 11 pounds of muscle since the end of the season.
At the time we did this interview he was about 5 days from the NFL Draft and he seemed very optimistic but also realistic about his NFL chances.
“I am looking for a chance to compete and earn a spot on a team,” said Morgan. “You look at teams like Atlanta and Seattle and see that they have constantly been looking for a snapper for the past two years. These are the type of spots that are very attractive to a snapper.
But if I don’t get an opportunity like that,” he added, “then I would really like a chance to snap in the preseason so that I can get some film out to the other NFL teams across the league.”
Morgan says he understands the life of an NFL long snapper can be a tough road, but he is excited for what opportunities will present themselves over coming weeks.
“I want to keep snapping and staying in shape even if I don’t get signed,” he said. “I am not going to count on long snapping being a career. The process can be long and hard but I am prepared for it.”
Morgan says he saw where the current Kansas City Chiefs long snapper took his last snap in college in 2004 and didn’t take his first NFL snap in a game until 2008. “I think that God will show me a sign as to when I should stop pursuing the NFL as a career,” he adds.
The odds of being a long snapper in the NFL can be tough with only a handful of jobs being open every year, but from getting to know Morgan over the years I believe he will have a very good chance to be successful in a snapping career or in whatever profession he intends to pursue.
“My dad has taught me that research is such an important part of making any decision,” he said. “Whether it is making a life decision or purchasing a TV. I have always been a big research guy in whatever I do.”
I feel that Morgan has done, and will continue to do, the proper research to be “prepared” for anything that comes his way this weekend or in the future. I think that if Morgan has to make a ‘snap’ decision Saturday during or after the Draft I think he will have it ‘covered’.
James The Ravens have released Matt Katula!
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