A good long snapper, in Scott Shafer’s eyes, is a lot like a good referee.

“You know what do they always say?” Shafer, Syracuse’s head coach, said at Wednesday’s post-practice press conference. “A good long snapper, you never know who he is. Until he’s gone and the next one isn’t as good.”

The long snapper he’s referring to is Sam Rodgers, who graduated in the spring after starting for four seasons and being named a captain as a senior. Now there’s freshman long snapper Matt Keller, who will likely dictate whether the Orange recalls Rodgers with nostalgia or continues to enjoy consistency at the position.

Keller, who went to Penn Manor (Pennsylvania) High School, enrolled at Syracuse in January as the top-ranked long snapper in the country according to Kohl’s, which runs punting, kicking and snapping camps. He’s the only scholarship player of SU’s three long snappers, a group that also includes senior Keith Mitsuuchi and sophomore Nathan Hines. So while the rest of the team’s freshmen are easing into their first college training camp, Keller’s on a slightly faster track.

“Keller is our snapper, that’s where we’re at right now,” Tim Daoust, SU’s defensive line coach and special teams coordinator, said Tuesday. “Keller came in here on scholarship to be the snapper and he’s very good.”

Shafer said he was told Keller was one of the hardest workers in the weight room over the summer, and added that he “put some good muscles on and his body weight has changed to the point where there’s less body fat.” Keller is listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 217 pounds, and Shafer also said he isn’t the most gifted athlete running down the field.

But the most important thing is snapping the ball quickly and accurately into Riley Dixon’s hands — who returns as Syracuse’s punter and, presumably, holder in the field-goal unit. Keller worked on live field goals with Dixon and sophomore kicker Cole Murphy on Tuesday, and looked to fit right into what Daoust called the first team “as of now.”

“I think that Keller has a chance to be pretty good,” Shafer said. “I’m sure he’ll have some butterflies in that opener but that’s part of the process. He’s worked really hard.”

Published on August 13, 2015 at 12:15 pm

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse