For long snapper Meadows going unnoticed isn't a bad thing
Nick Meadows understands that when it comes to the art of long-snapping anonymity is much more often than not a good thing.
It’s a spot on the field that isn't often accompanied with the glitz and spoils of others.
There's a reason for that.
“If you’re getting publicity as a long snapper, you probably did something wrong. People aren’t noticing you when the snap was on point,” Meadows said.
The redshirt senior must be doing his part.
Meadows, a native of Williamstown, served as the full-time long snapper a season ago handling all the duties on field goals, punts and extra points. And while people in the stands might not notice his work, those that matter in the program surely do.
His efforts earned him Special Teams Champion against BYU while appearing in all 13-games for the Mountaineers.
But his transition into the full-time role was made a lot less difficult by what actually unfolded the previous year. During the 2015 season, then starter John DePalma was dealing with a back injury at the time but his status leading into the season opener against Liberty wasn’t believed to be in doubt.
Ten minutes before kickoff, Meadows was informed that he was getting the call. Even more nerve-racking was at the time the captains would stay in the locker room to help hype up the team while the specialists were sent onto the field for the coin toss.
Guess where Meadows was going?
“First game; ten minutes ago I found out I was going to be snapping and coach (Joe) DeForest said you’re going out for the coin toss too,” he said.
Naturally Meadows had to battle some nerves, but the experience is one that forced him to adjust to the college game quickly. While others typically have time to sit and dwell on what their first starting experience will be like, Meadows didn’t have that opportunity.
It was a matter of doing it and doing it well.
Meadows would earn special teams honors in that game, and would be called on again during the second half in the next game against Maryland. He would again rise to the task.
That was his only taste of action during that season, but essential in his overall development. He had his nerves up by now and felt he was prepared to handle anything thrown at him and block the rest out.
“I just tried to focus on what I do on fourth down. I just focus on my job and make sure I do it right,” Meadows said. “I’ve gotten a lot better at doing that.”
Handling his role on fourth down was something that Meadows didn’t have to get used to. The in-state native has been snapping since he was 11-years old. The routine involves first mentally blocking out all of the clutter, walking up to the ball, eyeing the punter and getting himself in position.
After squatting up his feet, Meadows will load up and snap to his battery mate the punter, or holder on field goals or extra points.
Like most things in football, it comes down to repetition and muscle memory. But that doesn’t mean just simply snapping the ball, it has to be quality reps. If the consistency is not there, Meadows will stop drills and slow things down in order to figure out what’s going wrong.
“Everybody can do it once or twice. But to be able to do it every single time, that takes a lot of work,” he said.
When it comes to snapping on punts, the goal is to get the football where the punter wants it aids his steps to cut down on the time it takes to get the ball booted away.
For field goals the target is consistently putting the laces on the ball where the holder won’t have to spin it to cut down time of the execution there as well.
Redshirt junior punter Billy Kinney also serves as the team’s holder, and the battery mate of Meadows has worked long hours perfecting the exchange between the two. It's a practice based on timing and it takes time to develop that chemistry.
It doesn’t come easy and is something the pair often works on a daily basis.
“It’s crazy. We have to get a punt off in under two seconds and we spend so much time on it during the summer for five or ten seconds in a game,” Kinney said. “It’s extremely important.”
An offensive center in pee-wee football, Meadows started taking snapping serious when he moved to the varsity level in high school. So he started putting more time and effort into the craft and attended a training camp in Morgantown that eventually led to a bigger regional camp in New Jersey during his sophomore season.
It was at that event that he realized he could compete with others in the discipline and received positive feedback from those in attendance.
That’s when it became more than just a hobby.
Snapping developed into a lifestyle for Meadows.
“After I did well, I thought that I really need to stick with this,” he said.
West Virginia would get involved later in the process and at first although he had sent tape before, never expected to hear back from the coaching staff. But he eventually did and Meadows wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to play for the Mountaineers calling the decision to walk-on a, “no brainer.”
After receiving a scholarship for his efforts this past year, that decision has paid off in more ways than one. And now he is ready for his final campaign.
“I feel like I did really well, but there’s always room for specific improvement,” Meadows said.
Well, as long as nobody notices.