Nick Moore
Long Snapper
Georgia
Ed Hunt: Can you tell me about the intricacies of long snapping?
Nick Moore: We work at it every day. There are about four of us at Georgia and we snap about 50-100 balls a day. It’s constant repetition. Got to get that muscle memory to where we just do it. I’ve been doing it for three years at Georgia and this the first year, I’ve felt fully confident in putting the ball wherever I want it. It’s taken a long time to practice and get it down. It’s just like anything else, you got to work at it all the time.
Ed Hunt: Is there anything else you’ve played on special teams that you could bring to an NFL team?
Nick Moore: I’ve played everything. On kickoff return, I was a back-end wedge. On kickoff coverage, I was a point man. Which is a run straight to the ball type thing. On punt return, I played in-man on the line of scrimmage. Forcing the kick type of thing. Or blocking the long snapper. I played offense for two years at Georgia. I played fullback, so I’ve had a little experience in different aspects of football. I’m hoping I can use that to my advantage.
Ed Hunt: We’ve seen long-snappers go in the sixth round. Why should a team draft you?
Nick Moore: I feel like I’m one of the better long snappers. I’m versatile. I can run. I’m a big frame guy. I’m older, I’m 26. I played professional baseball, so I bring a different outlook on life in general, but sports as well. I’ve been in the professional arena before with baseball. I’ve been there. I have a feel for what pro sports are like. Football is obviously different than baseball, but I think I can help a team get to a championship by being a consistent guy, and the coach never having to worry about whether the long snaps are going to be good or not.
Ed Hunt: Yeah, that’s so important at the end of a game, right?
Nick Moore: Yeah, we saw it with the Rams. Those key moments. Everyone talks about it. Everyone sees the kicker, but you have to have a good snap and a good hold and you have to have a good kick for the field goal to go in. The guy for the Rams, that’s a pressure situation. You have to make a field goal to make it to overtime and then you have to make a field goal to go to the Super Bowl. Those are situations where the long snapper gets overlooked, and they only pay attention to the kick, but it’s just as stressful on us getting the snap perfectly, getting the laces out making it easy on the kicker. Those are big moments in a game for a long snapper and so that’s what our position is boiled down to. Those small plays right there where everyone expects it to be. As a fan, you don’t even think about the long snapper. You don’t think about the ball being a bad snap. You’re worried about whether the kicker is going to kick it good or not. A lot of that comes down to a good snap, good hold and good timing. Things like that, so it’s a lot more than a kicker by himself.
Ed Hunt: We’ve seen so many games in CFB and the NFL come down to the last snap, so how do you deal with the pressure?
Nick Moore: For me, I just want to do the best for my teammates. I want to make their jobs as easy as I can. I’ve done this a number of times. I just want to get it to where they have the best chance for success. That’s kind of how I view it.
Ed Hunt: Can you tell me about your baseball career?
Nick Moore: I was a 30th round draft pick by the Boston Red Sox in 2011. I played in their minor league system. I went to Salem, Virginia. I spent time with the Lowell Spinners in Massachusetts and I played with the Greenville Drive in South Carolina. I spent the better part of four years with the organization. Things didn’t work out the way I wanted to, but I had a great experience there and those people are first class people. I had a great time. I really enjoyed learning and being a part of that organization and it was one of the better organizations in all of baseball. They won the World Series this year. I knew a lot of the guys I played and lived with are playing in the major leagues now. I’m happy for them and I have nothing, but good things to say about them.
Ed Hunt: Playing for a world-class organization like the Red Sox, how do you bring that to your long-snapping?
Nick Moore: There are only a few plays in long snapping where you are on the field, and in baseball it’s the same way. In baseball, there are arm angles like in football. I can use my previous life, in baseball, for long snapping. I have the same attitude towards it.
