The Pittsburgh Steelers tried out former Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots long snapper Matt Katula, according to a league source.

Katula, 29, played in five games last season for the Minnesota Vikings, filling in when Cullen Loeffler broke a bone in his lower back.

A former Wisconsin player, Katula played with the Ravens from 2005 to 2009 and played eight games two years ago for the Patriots.

For his career, the 6-foot-6, 265-pounder has played in 93 games.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Top rankings and camp winners from the Ray Guy Prokicker.com camp in Charlotte, N.C., on May 12-13.

No. 1 kicker and kicker/punter combo:Joshua MacClaren, class of 2014, Pennsylvania.

No. 1 punter and punter/kicker:Shea Rodgers, 2015, South Carolina.

No. 1 long-snapper:Conrad Mueller, 2014, North Carolina.

No. 1 kickoff specialist:Rainer Whiteside, 2013, Ohio.

Long Distance Field Goal Winner:Josh MacClaren, 45 yards

Long Distance Kickoff Winner:Rainer Whiteside, 63 yards, 3.63 seconds.
Hang Time Punt Winner:  Taylor Henry, 4.39 seconds.
Out of bounds right winner:  Zac Bolick, 1-yard line.

Out of bounds left winner: Zac Bolick, 1-yard line.

Fastest single snap: Tyler Gibson, .79 sec
Most accurate Snapper:  Conrad Mueller, 20/30

Top Prospects
Tyler Gibson, LS, 2013
Conrad Mueller, LS, 2014
Caleb Fuller, LS, 2013

Metronews.com

Parkersburg South High School product Cody Nutter will have his chance in the NFL.  The now former West Virginia Mountaineer was signed after the NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“It’s awesome, unbelievable and I’m more excited than I ever have been,” Nutter said. 

Nutter knew his chances of being drafted as a long snapper weren’t great, but he did hope to at least sign on with a team in the end.

“I wasn’t expecting to get drafted.  They said you’re lucky if one long snapper gets drafted,” Nutter said.  “I was expecting to just get a chance to go into a camp and try to prove myself and I was fortunate enough to be contacted by multiple teams.  I’m more than grateful.

“Tampa Bay was never really in the mix,” he continued.  “But then I got a call at the end of the sixth round from their special teams coordinator and they said they were thinking about taking me in the seventh round – but they told me to hang tight if I wasn’t drafted and they would like to take me as a free agent.

Nutter will join draft picks Najee Goode and Keith Tandy, along with tight end signee Tyler Urban in Tampa Bay – all former Mountaineers.

“I had already talked to Najee Goode and Keith Tandy and was congratulating them.  They’re good buddies of mine,” Nutter said.  “I’ve been lifting with them and getting ready for Pro Day and then for the draft.  So, it was awesome.”

It’s a unique position for Nutter.  Being a state native, he understands NFL products from inside West Virginia aren’t simply a dime a dozen.

“It means a lot and I’ve had a dream of doing it since I was real little,” he said.  “I know instate players don’t always get the opportunity at the NFL, but I hope kids can see this in the state that if you keep working hard and keep pushing toward your dreams, you can accomplish whatever you want to.”

As for the long snapping, Nutter started in pee-wee football and eventually carried it into junior high.  He long snapped in high school as well to get on the field earlier.  After coming to WVU as a tight end and long snapper, he eventually settled on just focusing on long snapping.

“I just figured long snapping would give me a better chance to get on the field faster,” Nutter said.  “I started thinking about (long snapping in the NFL) maybe within the last year or two that I actually had a pretty good shot.  Growing up, I would have never ever thought that.”

BRADENTON, Fla. - Rankings winners from the Ray Guy Prokicker.com camp in the Tampa area on May 5-6.

No.1 kicker and kickoff specialist: Ryan Pandy, class of 2012, Fla.

No. 1 punter: Bryan Kirsche, 2014, Fla.

No. 1 long-snapper: Jeremiah Theus, 2015, Fla.

No. 1 kicker punter combo and punter kickoff combo: Gregory Moss, 2013, Fla.

Long distance field goal winner:  Austin Snowden, 50 yards

Long distance kickoff winner:  Ryan Pandy, 71 yards, 4.07 hang time

Hang time punt winner:  Bryan Kirshe, 48 yards, 4.47 hang time

Out of bounds right winner:  Anthony VonStralendorff, 1-t line

Out of bounds left winner:  Brandon Wilson, 3-yard line

Fastest Snap:  Austin Wilson, .77

Most accurate snapper:  Stephen Kleier (22), Jeremiah Theus, (22)

Talent Search:

Ryan Pandy, K, 2013

Stephen Kleier, LS, 2013

Mac Loudermilk, P, 2014

Bryan Kirshe, P, 2014

Jeremiah Theus, LS, 2015

CHICAGO - The Bears have invited undrafted free agent long-snapper Kyle Wojta to rookie mini-camp and will see how he performs before offering a contract.

Wojta was Wisconsin’s long-snapper for three seasons and was expected to get a look from an NFL team. During his junior year, Wojta tore his ACL in an October practice, but finished the season long-snapping on extra points only.

“I am committed to the Bears and it was too good of an opportunity to pass up,” Wojta told CBSChicago.com Monday. “I’m excited to prove myself and thankful to the Bears for the opportunity.”

Longtime Bears long-snapper Patrick Mannelly is coming off a torn ACL suffered against the Chargers last November. The 37-year-old is entering his 16th NFL season and is currently the only longsnapper on the roster.

The Bears rookie mini-camp will take place at Halas Hall from May 11-13.

By Dave Matter / Columbia Tribune

The NFL draft begins today, and of the dozen or so former Missouri players hoping to play in the league, only one was a four-year starter for the Tigers. Only one had his hand in 414 points scored over those four years. Only one mastered his job to near perfection. Of all the MU prospects hoping to make a roster at the next level, one consistently did his job better than the rest.

And if you can't think of his name, that comes with the job description.

He is long snapper Beau Brinkley.

Brinkley handled snaps for Missouri's punt, field goal and PAT units since his freshman year in 2008, whipping the ball between his legs exactly 512 times. Not once did he send a punter or holder scrambling for a wild snap. Not once did he miss his target's hands. Not once did a poor snap contribute to a missed field goal or extra point or blocked kick.

On that résumé alone, Brinkley figures to rank among the most accomplished long snappers looking for work in 2012, but his position is perhaps the most competitive in pro football. And he knows it.

"I'm not looking to get drafted," Brinkley said this week. "The only thing I'm looking for is the opportunity. That's the same thing I went through when I came to Mizzou. I wasn't given a scholarship. I was a preferred walk-on, which is basically being a free agent. I had to come in and prove myself."

This time, he's done his homework. Since the end of Missouri's season, Brinkley has paid three visits to Phoenix to work with longtime NFL and college special teams coach Gary Zauner, who runs camps and combines for punters, kickers and snappers with NFL aspirations. After attending a pro-development camp in January, Brinkley returned for 1-on-1 sessions with Zauner in February, during which he practiced snapping to former Georgia All-American punter Drew Butler. In March, he was back for a specialist combine, where Zauner records the specialists performing various drills and distributes the highlights to NFL teams.

Brinkley was one of this year's top performers, Zauner said.

"He's a very intense kid that has a passion for what he's doing and a drive that I think is going to take him sooner or later to the NFL," Zauner said.

Brinkley didn't change much on his punt snap but completely retooled his PAT/field goal technique under Zauner's watch. After studying slow motion footage of Brinkley's short snaps from last season, Zauner had him spread his legs for a wider stance to get a more consistent, crisp delivery.

Several teams have since told Brinkley they'll offer him a free-agent contract or invite him to training camp if he's not drafted. Yesterday, Baltimore Ravens special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg flew to Brinkley's hometown of Kearney to put him through a private workout.

That's no guarantee Brinkley will make a roster this fall.

"In theory, there's 32 jobs, but I've been tracking this since 2000," said Kevin Long, an NFLPA-certified agent who blogs about the position at Longsnap.com. "And really, in any given year, there's only a handful of jobs that are truly up for grabs. It's really a position where if a guy does it well and doesn't make mistakes and stays healthy, they hold on to the position for seven to 10 years, if not more."

Long figures only a few teams will be in the market for new long snappers this year, perhaps Tennessee, Chicago and Cleveland.

According to Long's data, of the 32 long snappers who handled most of the snaps for their teams last year, only four were selected in the NFL draft — three seventh-rounders and a fourth-rounder — New York Giants snapper Zac DeOssie.

At 233 pounds, Brinkley is a little lighter than what most teams prefer, Zauner said, but a 2010 rule change prohibiting teams from aligning a blocker directly across from the snapper could mitigate the difference in a few pounds.

During his standout career at Missouri Valley College, Mike Brinkley played on the offensive and defensive lines, handled field goal and PAT duties and was the long snapper for punts. When his son reached junior high, Mike hoped to make him into a kicker. Beau couldn't get the hang of it.

"But the snapping he picked right up," Mike said. "He was just a natural. You're basically just throwing between your legs. It's just like being a quarterback, but you're looking upside down at the world."

Brinkley became a three-sport athlete at Kearney High School and had a spotless record as the team's long snapper. He had some Division II offers to play tight end but accepted an invitation to walk on at Missouri. The Tigers needed someone to replace departed long snapper Steven Blair.

Brinkley became that someone. He soon went on scholarship and was twice named MU's special teams player of the year.

"He had to earn it," Mike Brinkley said, "and do it the hard way."

Next up, the NFL. And it doesn't get any easier.

Mike Garafolo of the Newark Star-Ledger reports that the Giants have signed long snapper Zal DeOssie to a three-year, $3.45 million contract extension, with $900,000 in guaranteed money.

The deal locks up DeOssie through the 2015 season. He will receive base salaries of $700,000 (2012), $824,000 (2013), $925,000 (2014), and $975,000 (2015) over the life of the contract, according to NFLPA numbers.

DeOssie turns 28 in May. He has been the Giants’ deep snapper for the past five seasons, and also recorded 10 tackles last year.

Minnesota Vikings veteran Cullen Loeffler, once a star quarterback during his days in high school, has somehow managed to create a nice little life for himself as an NFL long snapper.

He is about to enter his ninth NFL season and eager to start a new consecutive games streak. Before breaking a bone in his lower back while on punt coverage in Atlanta last November, Loeffler had handled every Vikings’ special teams snap since 2004, a streak that stretched over 123 consecutive regular season games.

Loeffler was named to the NFL's All-Fundamentals Team last fall, a squad put together by USA Football that also included league standouts like Aaron Rodgers, Arian Foster, Patrick Willis and Charles Woodson. As part of that honor, Loeffler was given a $1,500 grant, which he opted to give to his alma mater, Ingram Tom Moore High School in Texas.

The grant, Loeffler told the Star Tribune, is being used by the Warriors to get new high-tech Riddell Revolution Speed helmets, designed to help prevent serious head and neck injuries. And in a ceremonial visit back to Ingram last month, Loeffler had a chance to speak with current players at his high school.

“Hopefully, the few words I was able to give them can motivate them to work harder and to appreciate what they have and to try and make something better out of what has been a poor circumstance for them,” Loeffler said.

By DAVE BIRKETT / Detroit Free Press

Jeff Ramsey had no idea who was going to long snap when he asked for volunteers in Oberlin (Ohio) College's first team meeting of the fall three years ago. On a whim, Danny Enright raised his hand and said he could do the job.

Enright had next to no snapping experience -- he was the backup snapper at Novi High -- but one practice into his sophomore season at Oberlin, Ramsey knew he had something special.

"He wasn't afraid to fire the ball back," Ramsey said. "A lot of guys are afraid to do that. When they're upside down they're just not comfortable, but I think that goes with Danny's confidence as an athlete. He just said I'm going to go give 100% and see what happens and fix things from there. Not every snap's perfect, but it was good because he was fast. I'd coached on a couple teams that had guys play in the NFL as long snappers, and Danny was every bit as fast, if not faster, than those guys."

Enright has since ironed out some of his accuracy wrinkles, and soon he may be joining two of Ramsey's other former pupils in the NFL.

Four years after leaving Novi as a lightweight and lighter-recruited tight end, Enright is one of the more under-the-radar prospects in this year's rookie class.

There's little chance he'll be drafted next week, but at 6-feet-6 and 255 pounds and with a specialized skill (his snaps are NFL speed, typically in the low 0.7-second range) he should find his way into a rookie camp.

"I came to Oberlin with the expectation of playing football for four years and getting a great degree to set me up with a job for the rest of my life, in finance or some sort of business," Enright said. "Never did I think of playing football after college. But now that I've been given this opportunity, I'm going to try to make the most of it."

Enright gained attention after he gained more than 2 inches and 50 pounds with an early college growth spurt, and last year Ramsey included Enright's name and measureables when he responded to NFL prospect questionnaires.

Jets scout Gary Smith was the first to drop by for a look last spring, and since then a handful of other teams have followed. The Jaguars and Rams stopped by Oberlin practices last season, the Lions, Redskins and Raiders called, and the 49ers recently asked for some tape.

Enright took part in Wayne State's pro day at Total Sports in Wixom last month and tested well. He did 22 bench-press reps of 225 pounds, ran two sub-5-second 40-yard dashes and afterward snapped privately for the Rams at Novi High.

Today, he'll take part in the Lions' local workout, where he'll do tight end drills and long snap. As a tight end for the Division III Yeomen, Enright had 73 catches for 803 yards and six touchdowns the last two seasons.

"He has a measurable that is still rare in the NFL," Ramsey said. "You don't see many guys who are (over) 6-6 ... and he's got huge hands and long arms and it's kind of like what Gary said, some team may like him as a long snapper but keep him around not just as a long snapper and try to put weight on him and make him a tight end or make him a tackle. He has the height and wingspan that teams like for other positions."

The recruiting process was not an easy one for Eureka senior long-snapper Zach Hirth, who had to wait until late in the process to see if a Division I team would offer a scholarship.

Hirth (6-3, 180) is considered one of the top two or three players in the nation at his position, but long-snapping specialists rarely get scholarships as incoming freshmen.

“It’s a very slow process,” Hirth said. “It’s frustrating because everyone is getting their offers out right there at the beginning, but for long-snappers it’s like at the very end or the last minute, or if something bad happens they end up calling you. It’s very last-minute and kind of frustrating.”

Hirth’s recruiting story has a happy ending. He recently committed to walk on at Illinois, picking the Illini over Iowa State.

“I loved everything they offered up there, and it was very close to home,” he said. “Since I have family up in Michigan, it was kind of in-between. I’ll be playing a bunch of games up in Michigan, so they can come visit. Coach (Tim) Beckman seemed like a down-to-Earth guy.”

For now, the waiting game for a scholarship will continue.

“They said that I’m a preferred walk-on, so I haven’t gotten one yet, but I could possibly get one in August if one comes up,” Hirth said. “If not, I could get one in January.”