Tag: Andrew DePaola

Vikings LS Andrew DePaola among the league’s best

Special teams usually don’t get noticed, and that’s a good thing for long snappers

Most of the publicity for a team goes to the offense, defense or coaching staff. Rarely do special teams get a lot of attention unless they aren’t performing well.

That has happened often this season for the Minnesota Vikings, specifically with kicker Greg Joseph. Despite his five game-winning kicks this season, it’s the misses that have gotten the publicity.

One of the catalysts behind the success of both Joseph and punter Ryan Wright is long snapper Andrew DePaola.

He has been a quality long snapper for the Vikings during his three-year tenure here and it’s reflected in the PFF grades.

DePaola had the second-highest grade for all long snappers in both 2020 and 2021, and his top-graded performance this season was recognized this year with a Pro Bowl berth.

Sometimes, the little things add up and the consistency from DePaola has shown brightly this season.

Commitment alert: Rutgers football lands five-star long snapper Jake Eldridge

Rutgers gets a five-star commit in long snapper Jake Eldridge

Rutgers football landed a commitment on Monday night from long snapper Jake Eldridge. The verbal from Eldridge is significant as he is a five-star prospect.

The IMG Academy product is ranked as one of the top long snappers in the nation. According to the Rubio Long Snapping rankings, he is the second-best long snapper in the nation and ranked a five-star.

Eldridge holds offers from Rutgers, UCLA, and Air Force.

 

Eldridge previously committed to UCLA as a walk on, but has switched his commitment to Rutgers after a good visit back in June. He liked the facilities and the people during his first ever visit to the Garden State.

“First off, everyone in the area seemed really nice and welcoming, which is good to see,” Eldridge said. “I’d never been to New Jersey before so I didn’t know what to expect. I really loved the town and the campus. It was not your usual campus with them having three campuses so I wasn’t sure how I was going to like that, but I loved it when I was there.“

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Fans know that it is not often that offers are made to long snappers, and the Texas native is well aware also. Head coach Greg Schiano’s emphasis on special teams over the years really stood out to the highly touted prospect.

“I picked them because they showed me the most love from Day One. Being a special teams player, I’ve seen that is the school that values special teams the most out of any, which is really important for me. I am very grateful for the opportunity they gave me, and for believing in me. I know there are not a lot of offers like that going out to snappers. For it to be at a school I am really happy with is exciting.“

There are currently two former Scarlet Knights in the NFL who are currently long snappers, although they played multiple positions while in Piscataway. Clark Harris (left in 2007) is snapping for the Cincinatti Bengals, while Andrew DePaola is playing for the Minnesota Vikings and has been in the league since 2014. 

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Vikings re-sign DE Everson Griffen, LS Andrew DePaola

Guess who’s back (again)?

In what was a surprise decision, the Vikings released Everson Griffen as part of the team’s roster cuts to get to 53 players on Tuesday.

However, Minnesota reverted a few players to the IR on Wednesday, which left the door open for Griffen to make yet another return.

The Vikings re-signed Griffen and long snapper Andrew DePaola, the team announced Wednesday.

Those moves were some of many decisions the team made after producing its initial 53-man roster. The Vikings also cut Britton Colquitt and signed players to the practice squad. Minnesota had added 14 players to the practice squad at the time this article was published.

Griffen’s release yesterday was surprising, in part, because he had just re-signed with the team and he had a good preseason game against the Chiefs. So it’s reasonable that the team would bring him back now.

Minnesota is still missing a punter, but the team has its long snapper back. The Vikings also have depth at the returner spots, with Ihmir Smith-Marsette showing promise, and Ameer Abdullah being on the practice squad currently.

Vikings waive long snapper Austin Cutting

The Minnesota Vikings announced on Tuesday that the team was waiving long snapper Austin Cutting.

For the past two games, the Vikings have gone with Andrew DePaola at long snapper as the team made Austin Cutting inactive.

Cutting, the starting long snapper for all the games prior to the last two, had two bad snaps on field goals in a three-game stretch.  The Vikings have been inconsistent on special teams as a whole.

On Tuesday, the Vikings made an official decision in regards to their long snapping position: the team waived Cutting.

As reported by Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press, the Vikings hope to sign Cutting to the practice squad if he clears waivers. So the competition between Cutting and DePaola for the long snapping spot can potentially continue, barring Cutting getting signed by another team.

Not only that, but the team announced that it would be waiving linebacker Hardy Nickerson, too. CB Marcus Sayles was released from the practice squad. The Vikings also protected tight end Brandon Dillon.

Report: Vikings sign long snapper Andrew DePaola to the practice squad

The Minnesota Vikings have signed a new long snapper to their practice squad. Please welcome Andrew DePaola.

Minnesota long snapper Austin Cutting has had two bad snaps in the past three games.

Holder Britton Colquitt was able to make the best of the bad snap in the Packers game, and kicker Dan Bailey ended up making the extra point. Against the Lions, Cutting did not have any bad snaps.

The Vikings did not have the same luck against the Bears. This time, Cutting’s poor snap led to a missed opportunity on the point after.

Now, the Vikings are bringing in a new long snapper. Long snapper Andrew DePaola has signed with the Minnesota practice squad, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

DePaola, who has had stints with the Buccaneers, Bears, Raiders and Panthers, has torn both of his ACLs in his NFL career. There’s no telling whether he will replace Cutting or not, but if the long snaps don’t get better, it helps to have an emergency backup on the practice squad.