Tag: Patrick Mannelly Award

Alabama long snapper Kneeland Hibbett a semifinalist for Patrick Mannelly Award

Patrick Mannelly Award for top long snapper in the country names Alabama’s Kneeland Hibbett a semifinalist.

There is a good chance that this is the first time that you have heard Kneeland Hibbett’s name, but that is probably a good thing. The Alabama Crimson Tide long snapper has been sensational this year, and the only time his name would probably come up during a game is for a mistake, which fortunately has not happened yet.

For obvious reasons, the offense and defense get most of the credit for Alabama’s success, but the special teams unit has been a well-oiled machine all year long. As we get later into the season and the margins start to shrink, every small detail matters, and having a reliable special teams unit makes all of the difference in the world.

Hibbett has been one less thing for DeBoer and the staff to worry about and he is finally receiving the credit he deserves as he was named as a semi-finalist for the Patrick Mannelly Award which goes to the nation’s top long snapper. The Award was first unveiled in 2019 with Notre Dame’s John Shannon winning the inaugural award.

The Crimson Tide do have one winner in program history as Thomas Fletcher brought home the award in 2020 during Alabama’s national title run. So, Hibbett’s could become the program’s second winner.

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Husker named finalist for postseason award

A Nebraska long snapper has been named a finalist for a postseason award.

A Nebraska long snapper has been named a finalist for a postseason award. Marco Ortiz was one of ten long snappers named to the Patrick Mannelly Award watch list.

Ortiz is spending his first season at Nebraska after having previously transferred from Florida. The three finalists include Ortiz, Peter Bowden of Wisconsin and Joe Shimko and N.C. State.

The three finalists will be invited to Chicago for the awards presentation on December 9. The award is named for NFL long snapper Patrick Mannelly. Mannelly played for the Chicago Bears for 16 seasons before entering a career in the Chicago media.

The honor is only in its fifth year of existence and benefits Bernie’s Book Bank. That organization provides books to underserved communities in the Chicago area.

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Notre Dame players named to preseason award watch lists

Will anyone win this year?

It’s the time of year when we start seeing award watch lists come out in anticipation of the college football season. With Notre Dame expected to be highly ranked once again, there are plenty of players who are ripe for watching. Whether or not any of them actually take home any of this hardware is anyone’s guess right now, but they’re at least on the radar of those who know college football best.

In some cases, more than one Notre Dame player is on the watch list for the same award. Also, as different award watch lists come on different days, it can be difficult to keep track of them all. Rest assured, we will be doing just that as these lists continue to come out.

At season’s end, we’ll find out if any of them or maybe somebody different becomes the first national award winner for the Irish since [autotag]Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah[/autotag] won the Butkus Award in 2020:

Notre Dame long snapper named to Patrick Mannelly Award watch list

He very well could take home the hardware after this season

One of the best long snappers in the history of football, [autotag]Patrick Mannelly[/autotag], has a long snapping award named after him and recognized [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag]’s [autotag]Michael Vinson[/autotag].

The Mannelly Award is give out annually to the top long snapper in college, was created in 2019 and the [autotag]John Shannon[/autotag], the Irish long snapper, took home the initial award.

Vinson, who has been named to the watch list for the second consecutive  year, did not take home the hardware after the 2022 season. The 6-foot, 2-inch and 235 pound long snapper is a known commodity, being named as the First Team All-American selection by the American Football Coaches Association for his work last year.

A semi-finalist for the Mannelly Award last year, Vinson will look to take home the award after this fall.

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Patrick Mannelly doesn’t want Bears to sit Justin Fields, talks long snapper award, and more

Former Bears LS Patrick Mannelly sits down with Bears Wire to talk about his long snapper award, Matt Eberflus, Justin Fields, and more.

Patrick Mannelly has experienced more Chicago Bears games than any other player in team history. The former long snapper has team-record 245 career games under his belt that isn’t expected to be broken anytime soon. He’s seen the highs and lows of various NFL seasons, from Super Bowl appearances to bad collapses, spanning 16 years with four coaches.

In short, Mannelly knows what a good locker room should look like and believes this year’s Bears would benefit from winning the final few games of the 2022 season.

“It’s a culture thing,” Mannelly told Bears Wire. “You’re going to have Justin Fields back, Jack Sanborn back, Eddie Jackson back, Jaylon Johnson, Jaquan Brisker, Cole Kmet, all of these young guys. They need to make sure what they’re doing in-house right now is attacking work like they did in Week 1.”

Mannelly believes keeping the same fire they had to start the season will pay dividends going into 2023.

“They have to attack every work week and you can bring that culture into the next week,” Mannelly said. “I think coach [Matt] Eberflus can help sell that like Lovie Smith did to us.”

He’s a big believer in Eberflus’ H.I.T.S. principle and sees the players buying in during the coach’s first year.

“I love what he’s come up with,” Mannelly said. “I know some people in Chicago media think is funny or whatever it is and but you’re building a standard in that in that in that locker room in that building and it’s important for those guys to to uphold that.”

Notre Dame’s milk man to return for a 6th season

You know him for his nickname but not for what he does and that’s a good thing. It’s also good he’s coming back.

If you’re a casual Notre Dame football fan you may have heard the name [autotag]Michael Vinson[/autotag] before but upon hearing it now, you may not remember why.  That’s a very good thing for him and for Notre Dame’s special teams unit.

Why?

Because Vinson, as some of you are already aware, is Notre Dame’s long snapper and a fine one at that.  More commonly known as “Milk”, Vinson was a semi-finalist for The Patrick Mannelly Award (which does tremendous work in the city of Chicago annually).  If you don’t know his name it’s likely because he does his job and isn’t in the headlines for his errors.

Notre Dame’s special teams received some pleasant news Friday as Vinson, Milk, announced he’ll be back for his sixth and final year of eligibility in 2023.

Hopefully, next year will be another year where he again remains a relative unknown for all of the right reasons.

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Notre Dame’s Michael Vinson makes watch list for Mannelly Award

Here’s hoping Vinson can get this type of recognition in 2022.

The long snapper might be the most unheralded position in football. Very little fanfare is given to it, but it’s just as important as the other 10 positions out on the field at the moment of truth. Fortunately, the Patrick Mannelly Award was created in 2019 to be presented to the best long snapper in college football. Notre Dame’s [autotag]Michael Vinson[/autotag] has made the watch list for this year’s award.

Although the Mannelly Award hasn’t been around for very long, the Irish benefited from it immediately upon its establishment. The first recipient of the award was [autotag]John Shannon[/autotag]. Though Shannon never played football again after that, it sure was a nice way to go out. His departure paved the way for Vinson to become the top long snapper, and Vinson has held the fort down ever since.

It’s hard to tell how Vinson will do this season, but at least the experts have high hopes for him.

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Chris Stoll named to watch list for nation’s top long-snapper award

Will Chris Stoll become Penn State’s first winner of this college football award in 2022?

Watch list season was in full bloom on Penn State’s first day of spring football practices on Monday. PJ Mustipher was named to the watch list for the Rotary Lombardi Award and Ji’Ayir Brown and Joey Porter Jr. appeared on the watch list for the Chuck Bednarik Award. But don’t forget about long snapper [autotag]Chris Stoll[/autotag]. His name also appeared on a watch list for an individual award on Monday.

Stoll was named on the watch list for the Patrick Mannelly Award, an award presented annually to the top long snapper in college football. A relatively new individual award to college football, the Patrick Mannelly Award was first presented in 2019.

Previous winners of the Mannelly Award are John Shannon of Notre Dame (2019), Thomas Fletcher of Alabama (2020), and Cal Adomitis of Pittsburgh (2021). Penn State and the Big Ten are looking for the first winner of this particular award in 2022.

Stoll was also recently named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team watch list. This is his second season appearing on the watch list for the Patrick Mannelly Award.

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Oklahoma Sooners’ Kasey Kelleher named to Patrick Mannelly Award watch list

Kasey Kelleher was named to the Patrick Mannelly Award watch list as one of college football’s best long snappers. 

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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.

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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Notre Dame’s Michael Vinson makes Patrick Mannelly Award Watch List

Yes, even long snappers get honored in college football.

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There might not be a position in football that gets as little recognition as long snapper. After all, they don’t do much more than hike the football a longer distance than a center and also block when necessary. Fortunately, college football has the wits about it to recognize the best at every position, including long snapper. Notre Dame’s Michael Vinson can attest to that after being named to the Patrick Mannelly Award Watch List, which lists players who could win the award that goes to the best long snapper in college football annually.

Vinson is coming off a season in which he was the Irish’s first choice for long snapper every game. In 2021, he will face off with a few of his fellow preseason nominees. Barring injury, they will be Sean Mills of Toledo, Oscar Shadley of Virginia Tech, Damon Johnson of USC and Kyle Petrucci of Stanford. If long snappers are your thing, pay particularly close attention to that position in those games.