Thursday, June 7, 2012

Commit #21 Long Snapper Scott Sypniewski

Meet commitment #21 for Team 134, a long snapper out of Ottowa, IL, Scott Sypniewski.  He is the nation's #2 rated long snapper and is rated quite to be an elite prospect in what is typically a position that receives little to no attention from recruiting services, fans, and the media.  He is listed at 6'1" and 230 pounds, but he probably could get bigger by time he arrives on campus.

Now, I know he may not be what we were all expecting and I admit, I sure wasn't expecting this commitment at this time, but there does appear to be a need for a long snapper.  In the 2012 recruiting class, Michigan had gotten a preferred walk-on at the position, but MSU offered him a full scholarship and he decided to go to East Lansing instead of Ann Arbor.  Obviously, there was some concern for the position, which is probably why the coaches offered Sypniewski his scholarship.

Long snapper doesn't usually get much attention, but it's a vital position to the success of any football team.  One bad snap can take a team that's in great position and change the entire game dynamic.  Take last season's finale against Ohio.  I'm sure we all remember the messed up snap with Hagerup.  That particular snap appeared to be more of a combo than the fault of solely the long snapper, but that point is still there, mess up one snap and the entire game could change as it almost did against Ohio last season.  Hoke seems dedicated to preventing a re-occurence of that event, which is why Scott will be joining Team 134.

Now, some people say this is a waste of a scholarship, because there are some great prospects on the board that could end up in Ann Arbor including Laquon Treadwell, Derrick Green, Jordan Wilkins, and Devin Fuller.  However, the likelihood of us getting all four of those guys is pretty slim.  Don't get me wrong, I would love to see them all come to Michigan, but to hold spots out on a few guys is foolish when long snapper seemed to be an obvious need for the team.  Time will tell how this works out, but for now, we need to trust that the coaches know what they are doing with these scholarships.  I'm excited that he chose to commit and I've included a highlight video so everyone can get a sense of what he'll be bringing to Ann Arbor in the fall of 2013.

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