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The Oklahoma Sooners have had one of the best kicking units in college football for what seems like the better part of a decade. Gabe Brkic and Austin Seibert might get all of the accolades, but as the Oklahoma Sooners Twitter account states, “every good kick starts with a good snap.”
To that end, Kasey Kelleher was named to the Patrick Mannelly Award watch list as one of college football’s best long snappers.
Every good kick starts with a good snap. @KaseyKelleher named to the Patrick Mannelly Award watch list for the nation's top long snapper. https://t.co/O41dSmGIgC | #OUDNA pic.twitter.com/ztfyeTghzo
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) August 9, 2021
In only the third season of its existence, the award has been won by John Shannon of Notre Dame and Thomas Fletcher of Alabama.
Long snapper may not be a position the average college football fan thinks about much, but it is if you don’t have a good one. Kelleher has been a good one for the Oklahoma Sooners in his three seasons in Norman.
He’s been the long snapper for 39 games as part of an Oklahoma Sooners kicking game that has been one of the best in the country the last several seasons.
With Kelleher as the long snapper for the Oklahoma Sooners, the kicking game has made 87% of its field goals between Seibert and Brkic. Since 2018, the Sooners have missed one extra point in 189 attempts.
The long snapper is an underrated position because so much of what happens in the kicking game depends on the snap. If the snap is off even a little bit and it forces the holder to reach for the ball, it can throw off the whole operation of the kick.
Having a reliable and dependable long snapper is incredibly valuable to a team. Kasey Kelleher is as reliable and dependable as they come and will continue to play an important role for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2021.
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