New York Giants rookie center John Michael Schmitz is a team player and will adjust his game if veteran quarterback Daniel Jones requests it.
Throughout his career at Minnesota, Schmitz used the “dead snap” technique. That sends the ball back to the quarterback with an end-over-end motion as opposed to the more common spiral method. It’s the same snap technique he was seen using during the team’s two-day rookie minicamp.
Seems the Giants & Bobby Johnson are allowing John Michael Schmitz stay with the “dead ball” snapping technique. pic.twitter.com/LeQcSHIO0S
— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) May 5, 2023
However, Schmitz is equally as comfortable using the spiral snap, so it will all boil down to what Jones prefers.
“I mean, it’s whatever is comfortable for Daniel in the back in the quarterback position. I’m flexible doing the dead ball snap or the regular snap. Doesn’t change a thing for me,” Schmitz told reporters on Saturday.
Although the dead ball snap is a bit more unconventional, Schmitz has never encountered a quarterback who took exception to it.
“Didn’t have a quarterback that didn’t like it. I pretty much had the one quarterback for my whole career at the University of Minnesota. He enjoyed it,” Schmitz said, adding that he learned the technique at Minnesota.
At the 2023 Senior Bowl, Schmitz did switch gears a bit. He went with the traditional spiral snap as opposed to the dead snap and it didn’t impact him one bit. Schmitz was arguably the most dominant and effective player on the field during Senior Bowl week.
Still, Schmitz prefers the control the dead snap provides even if it comes at the cost of getting to the quarterback a split-second slower.
“Honestly, I felt it was a lot more controllable with that position, the dead snap. Just felt comfortable, kind of just came natural when I kept doing it over and over again,” he said. “We’ll see if I stick with it or change it up. We’ll see what happens.”
The Giants will hold their mandatory minicamp from June 13-14 and that will likely be the first time we get to see Schmitz snapping to Jones.
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