CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Ray Guy Prokicker.com camp in Charlotte last weekend was a snap for talented long-snapper prospects.

Three long-snappers landed on Prokicker.com’s talent search – Tyler Gibson, Conrad Mueller and Caleb Fuller. Gibson and Fuller are in the 2013 class and Mueller is in 2014.

Mueller, is from North Carolina, had an impressive camp. He was 20 of 30 on the Prokicker.com scoring system and ranked No. 1 in the camp.

kicker-punter combo Joshua MacClaren (class of 2014), punter-kicker Shea Rodgers (2015) and kickoff specialist Rainer Whiteside (2013) were other top prospects at the camp.

The next Prokicker.com camp will be this coming weekend (May 19-20 at Ashley Ridge High School in Summerville, S.C. Visit Prokicker.com to register.

LOS ANGELES - Competition winners, top prospects and rankings from the Ray Guy Prokicker.com Winter camp last weekend,

Long Distance Field Goal Winner:  Mitchell Wheelon, 50 yards
Long Distance Kickoff Winner:  Eric Sanchez, 69 yds, 3.67 sec
Hang Time Punt Winner:  Cody Fisher, 52yds, 4.12 sec
Out of bounds punt right winner:  Matt Barr, 6 yd line
Out of bounds punt left winner:  Jose Munguia, 3 yd line
Fastest single snap:  Shawn Murphy, .81 sec
Most Accurate Snapper:  Joe Marx, 19/30

Top Prospects:
Matthew Barr, K/P, 2013
Eric Sanchez, K/P, 2012

Rankings
#1 kicker:  Eric Sanchez, 2012
#1 punter:  Cody Fisher, 2012
#1 long snapper:  Joseph Marx, 2013
#1 kicker/punter Combo:  Matthew Barr, 2013
#1 punter/kickoff, Kickoff Specialist:  Eric Sanchez, 2012

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Ray Guy Prokicker.com was in Big 10 country this weekend for a winter camp at Purdue University.

More than 70 campers attended at Prokicker.com’s annual stopover here.

The top-ranked kickers in the camp were Craig Larew (Lawrence North, Ind.,class 2012), Andrew Fantini (Ballard High, Ky., 2013) and Jon Parker (Gross Pointe, Mich., 2012). Parker and Fantini connected on 80 percent of their field goals but Larew’s 65.5 average on kickoff distance boosted him. He had the longest kickoff (66 yards) and the best kickoff hangtime (3.94) while also making 60 percent of his field goal attempts.

Dean DeVries (Grandville High, Mich., 2012) was a top punter with a 44.7 average and 4.22 average hang time. Jimmy Crumley (Carroll, Ind., 2013) was closely behind at 40.5, 3.95 and Joseph Davidson (Findlay, Ohio, 2013) was also impressive with 42.5 and 3.63.

DeVries launched a camp record 60-yard punt, further adding to his accomplishments.

Crumley (class of 2013) was the most consistent punter for distance and hang time in Logan O’Connor’s combo group. Carroll had six of 10 punts of more than 40 yards with kicks of 46 (twice), 43, 41, 50 and 51.

“Five of those six were four-second hang time,” O’Connor said, adding Crumley’s best hangtime was 4.25 on a 43-yard punt. “He definitely showed a lot of promise with his ball contact. He had a real solid camp. He seems like he could be a pretty dominant punter.”

Sean Corcoran (Bishop McNamara, Ill., 2013), Nathan Douglas (Milford, Mich., 2013) and Brandon Zehr (Pontiac, Ill., 2013) were the long-snappers who made the biggest impression on the staff and in scores. Corcoran had an average snap time of 0.83 and scored 20 on accuracy. Douglas was 1.03 and 16 and Zehr was 0.89 and 12.

Larew, Isaac Wilkerson (Owensboro Catholic, Ky., 2013) and Crumley were the top kicker-punter combos while the top three punter-kickoff specialists were Larew, Crumley and Noan McMahon (Homestead, Ind., 2013).

The top kickoff specialists were Larew, Matthew Eppers (Elkhart, Ind., 2012) and Jonathan Hutchens (John Carroll Catholic, Ala., 2013).

Prokickernews.com

PHOENIX – Two long-snappers with college potential highlighted the Ray Guy Prokicker.com winter camp here this weekend.

Nick Dooley and Michael Lizanich made an impression on Prokicker.com coach Jacob Claycomb. Both were put on Prokicker.com’s top prospects list.

“Nick has got the size that college coaches dream about,” Claycomb said. “He’s about 6-7, 280 pounds … an absolute monster. He’s a good kid and seemed like he wanted to learn and go to work.”

The good news for recruiters? Dooley is a 2012 graduate, meaning he could be snapping in college somewhere this fall. He scored 21 out of 30 as the most accurate long-snapper in the winter camp.

“He knew what he was doing and he was willing to accept coaching,” Claycomb said. “He has the potential to be really good.”

Lizanich, who is in the 2013 class, was another snapper who Claycomb liked.

“Like Nick, he was willing to accept coaching even though he’d had previous instruction,” Claycomb said. “I really liked that about him. He’s really coachable. In my mind he can play college ball somewhere.”

Lizanich, who is 5-11 and 200 pounds, threw the fastest snap at the camp with a .75 seconds.

“Michael kind of reminded me of myself,” said Claycomb, who snapped for Eastern Kentucky University. “He didn’t have the size but he could throw a good ball. He could bring the heat. That’s something I was impressed with and he’s got another year of high school.”

By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com
ST. LOUIS — Two long-snappers with a potential college future in front of them were among the standouts during Monday’s Ray Guy Prokicker.com camp at Christian Brothers College High School.
Zach Hirth of Eureka, Mo., and Nathan Propst of Festus, Mo., who are both rising seniors, could be playing on Saturdays, said Prokicker.com staff member Jacob Claycomb.
“I’ll be the first to say both of these kids have a bright future ahead of them,” Claycomb said. “Miracles don’t happen overnight but if they keep working, they’ve got a big upside.”
They are both of similar built, 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds. “They’ve both got the Division I type of bodies,” Claycomb said. “Colleges look for bodies they can build on and these guys have it. Their size is going to jump once they’re in college.”
Hirth edged Propst in the long-snapping competition at the camp but both made equally big impressions.
Hirth has been a long-snapper at his high school since his sophomore year. He is also a defensive lineman.
He’s drawn some interest from the likes of Northwestern, Michigan, Purdue, Auburn and Alabama for his long-snapping ability.
“In Little League I was the center and they asked me to long-snap for them,” Hirth said. “That’s where I got started. My dad kept reading up on it and learned it was a good thing to do, that people were getting scholarships for it. My dad kept pushing me.”
Hirt’s accuracy in competition has been top-notch — no bad snaps during his high school career the past two years.
He’s been to several Prokicker.com camps and often uses their drills when practicing on his own.
“All the coaches treat me great here,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot from them.”
Hirt was throwing an average snap of .80 with a best of .78. He scored 18 of 30 on the accuracy charting.
Propst, who is coming back after missing his junior season with a torn labrum, is looking forward to snapping in competition again.
“I really missed it last year,” he said. “Coach was struggling to find a long-snapper.”
Festus High School is big on special teams, Propst said.
“They find it very important. Coach talks to me all the time about getting my snaps in,” he said. “They give us like 20 minutes in practice to work.”
Propst spends another 30 minutes a day working on his snapping.
“I’ve had Nathan in previous camps and like Zach he’s so coachable,” Claycomb said. “It makes me happy. Both these kids are wanting to learn and wanting to get better.”
Claycomb made some subtle changes in Propst’s technique that translated into immediate long-snapping results.
“The few tweaks I’ve made on him have been unbelievable,” Claycomb said.

By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Three rising junior long-snappers made a big impression at the Ray Guy Prokicker.com camp here this week.

C.T. Leavell, Zack Jernigan and Patrick Douchette are on the right track, said Prokicker.com long-snapping guru Ben Fuller.

“What impressed me the most, all of them has two years left to improve,” he said. “All of them have some work to do but I thought the numbers were really good, speed-wise especially. They have minor adjustments to make and two years to work on it.”

Jernigan hit .81 three times and was 16 of 32 on accuracy. Leavell was .82 and 16 of 32 and Douchette was .77 and 14 of 32.

Douchette and Leavell are big and strong linemen for Farragut High School in Knoxville.

“They are studs,” Fuller said. “CT is a wrestler as well. They have tremendous flexibility in the lower back and hamstring, unusual for kids that are big up top. They’re not overweight, just big ‘ol barrel-chested guys.”

Fuller said that, with work, the speed will lower for both of the long-snappers.

“In another year or so, they could both be in the low to mid .7s,” he said. “Both of them have a shot at playing college football real quick.”

Jernigan, who is from Humboldt, Tenn., was “dead serious” about his long-snapping, Fuller said. He also has size.

“Zack is a horse,” Fuller said. “I’m 6-3 and I feel like I was eye-to-eye with him and he has to be 260 pounds. He didn’t talk a whole lot.”

Jernigan’s numbers were good but not what he thought they should be.

“I talked to his mom and dad and they were both disappointed with how he charted,” Fuller said. “The kid was visibly disappointed but never complained. He’d be the kind of guy that would be cool under pressure.”

Jernigan is strictly a long-snapper on his team because of the potential and skill he displays at the position. His goal is to one day play for the University of Tennessee.

His parents are diehard Volunteer fans and his grandmother is so much a regular at UT games that former coach Phil Fulmer would wave at her upon entering the field.

“It’s kind of his (Jernigan) dream to go to UT,” Fuller said.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Competition winners from the June 8-9 Ray Guy Prokicker.com kicking Academy.

Longest field goal high school: Matt Flynn, 50 yards

Long distance kickoff: Mark Grant, 66 yards, 3.93

Hang-time punt: Matt Flynn, 43 yards, 3.96

Out of bounds punt right: Matt Flynn

Out of bounds punt left: Caleb Walters

Fastest single snap: Will Few, 0.79

Most accurate snapper: Will Few, 18 of 30

Top prospects

Will Few, long-snapper, 2012

Mark Grant, kicker, 2012

Matt Flynn, kicker-punter, 2013

Joesph Pedraza, kicker, 2013

CHARLOTTE, N.C. –  Prokicker.com Ray Guy kicking Academy's competition winners at last weekend's camp.

Here are the camp’s top prospects and the competition winners.

kicker/punter/snappers

James Squatriglia, punter, 2014 grad year

Ben Kepley, punter, 2013 grad year

Competition winners

Long distance field goal: Tyler Jeffery, 45 yards

Long distance kickoff: Truett Burns, 64 yards, 3.36 hang time

Hang time punt: James Squatriglia, 40 yards, 4.64 hang time

Out of bounds punt right: Ben Kepley

Out of bounds punt left: Thomas Burg

Fastest single snap: J.L. Purves, 0.83

Most accurate snapper: Conrad Mueller, 18 out of 30 points

By Erik Scalavino / Patriots.com

At first blush, you might not think a special teams coach would have much input in the NFL draft.

However, consider that many - if not most - rookies make NFL rosters based on their ability to contribute on special teams, whether as a returner or coverage player. That makes Scott O'Brien's role, as special teams coach for the Patriots, quite valuable indeed.

Unless his team is deep in the playoffs O'Brien generally begins his draft evaluations each year during the week leading up to the Senior Bowl in late January. And that work takes him right up to the draft itself in late April.

In addition to specialists - the kickers, punters, long snappers, and return men - O'Brien often looks at numerous players on both offense and defense to contribute in the Patriots kicking game.

"We usually do the skill positions," he explained, "which even requires some of the defensive linemen. done it [in college] and look at them that way. And it's a long process to do the returners. Then it's a progression to the special teams players, you know, the guys who line up to cover kickoffs, play in the return game, and so on and so forth."

Sometimes, there's a leap of faith to be made in deciding if a player could play special teams because there just isn't the tape available of their having done it in college. One area where that's become a particular concern is at holder. A generation ago, backup quarterbacks were generally relied upon to serve in that role. However, nowadays, teams typically ask punters to perform those duties.

Not only does that free up the quarterback to spend more time with the offense during practice, it also makes sense that the kicking trio - kicker, punter, long snapper - already spends the majority of its time together, so, the group can dedicate itself more to developing their chemistry.

That's the advantage. But there is a disadvantage as well, which O'Brien noted.

"Not all punters hold, and it's usually because their hands aren't very good," he said. "Or you'll find teams that the punter can hold and they don't use him, and they do use the quarterback. Some teams, like Virginia Tech, the head coach wants a quarterback to hold so they can run fakes."

Last season, rookie punter Zoltan Mesko (drafted in the fifth round) was the holder for extra points and field goals. During training camp, QB Brian Hoyer took snaps as the backup.

In this year's draft, though, O'Brien hasn't found many players other than punters who've held for placekicks, but there are a couple - wide receivers Randall Cobb from Kentucky and Boise State's Austin Pettis - who have considerable experience in that area. Needless to say, that pair is on O'Brien's radar.

"You'd be surprised how hard it is to find those guys," O'Brien said of college holders in general.

"Your punter is great, but if he gets hurt, well, who's your next one? Being able to do that is important for us in our evaluation of a player and how we could use him."

New England hasn't been shy about drafting specialists in recent years. In addition to Mesko last year, the team selected long-snapper Jake Ingram in 2009, coverage and return specialist Matthew Slater in '08, and eventual All-Pro kicker Stephen Gostkowski in '06 to replace Adam Vinatieri.

So, when the Patriots are on the clock later this month, expect O'Brien to be directly involved in the decision-making process with head coach Bill Belichick, the coaching staff, and the personnel department.

"Just like any other position coach that [Belichick] talks to when they're talking about any player, there's an evaluation process we have with any specialist - the critical factors we look for, the position specifics they all have, and their overall production.

"The majority of players we look at have done something in the kicking game," O'Brien continued, "and most of them have done it as seniors or juniors. You get another evaluation of them doing something else in a different part of the game, so, when you're putting everything together, it's another report you rely on. It used to be such a projection, now it's not because you're actually seeing them do it and you're evaluating them doing it. There's a lot more of an emphasis on [special teams] now in college."

O'Brien pointed to last year's first-round pick, cornerback Devin McCourty, as a prime example of a player who started on defense for his college team (Rutgers), but was also a crucial component to their special teams. McCourty wound up contributing in both areas for the Patriots last season.

"And a lot of the highly rated players this year you'll also find in the kicking game," added O'Brien.

Which makes his feedback all the more vital when the Patriots make their picks.