Though hardly seen, snappers important to Horned Frog team
It’s a position that doesn’t garner much attention, but Frogs Andy Boerckel and Clif Alexander know how important a snapper is to a team.
By Danny Gillham
Sports Editor

The position of snapper is not one that many people know about, or for that matter, even care about.

The common fan probably thinks that it’s not that hard. All you do is play on special teams, and make sure that the ball gets back to the holder or punter.

Football coaches would disagree.

It’s the reason that the Dallas Cowboys signed a backup tight end, Jeff Robinson, to a four year, $4.8 million dollar contract. His sole purpose on the team was to serve as the team’s deep snapper.

The fact is that in football games, special teams can determine the outcome of the contest, and that is why junior Andy Boerckel and sophomore Clif Alexander play such a critical role for the Horned Frogs.

Both centers in high school, Boerckel and Alexander were undersized to play lineman in Division I college football (Boerckel weighs 220 pounds, and Alexander is 205).

So they tried their luck at deep snapping.

“I have been snapping since I was in seventh grade,” Boerckel said. “Size wise, I’m not physically as big, so I decided that I could probably keep up and help a team out.”

Alexander handles the short snaps, which are for field goal and extra point attempts, while Boerckel takes the deep snaps, given to Frog punter Joey Biasatti.

Boerckel served as the team’s starting snapper last season, and head coach Gary Patterson said the contribution is key for the team.

“It means you don’t have to have as good of protection,” Patterson said, “and it makes a difference when you don’t have to worry about that side of the game. It was important enough that I put him on scholarship.”

Alexander is in his first season of starting for the Frogs, after being a squadman as a redshirt freshman.

Alexander said that with deep snapping, repetition and practice is good, and the mental aspect is not much of a factor.

“To me it’s not a thinking thing,” Alexander said. “It’s more or less just feel and rhythm, and you get out there and know what to do. It’s all reaction.”

Special teams coach Dan Sharp works with both individuals on a daily basis. He said that the minor details of snapping the ball on special teams mean much more than meets the eye.

“I think a lot of people, especially in the public, don’t realize how important they are,” Sharp said. “If that ball pulls one way or another on punt, it’s a block. We expect those guys to have an accurate snap, and it be placed perfect. It’s the difference between getting off a 50-yard punt or a block. On field goals, it’s the difference between our guy being seven for seven this year, instead of four of seven.”

With both guys so close together in classification, Sharp said the search for a replacement becomes critical when the old snappers graduate.

“I wish they weren’t so close together,” Sharp said. “As a coach you kind of go into a panic mode in trying to find a replacement for the guy who has just done a good job for you. At least it’s a problem we don’t have to worry about for a few years.”

While Alexander and Boerckel understand the importance of their roles, they give credit to the people on the receiving end of their snaps, Biasatti and junior kicker Nick Browne.

“Without Nick and Joey, we don’t have a job,” Boerckel said. “ If they don’t get off a good kick, it kind of takes what we do away. Those two guys do a great job all year. It goes hand and hand with what we do.”

d.r.gillham@tcu.edu