Florida Gators long snapper Rocco Underwood (42) celebrates a tackle against the Miami Hurricanes during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium last year. [Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports]

Florida’s Rocco Underwood Named Semifinalist for Best Long Snapper Award

Florida’s Rocco Underwood was named the best long snapper in college football last year and he looks to repeat that honor this season after being named a semifinalist this week by the Patrick Mannelly Award committee.

The award was named after Patrick Mannelly, a former Duke and Chicago Bears long snapper from 1998 to 2013, when he never recorded a bad snap. The award, which helps with the Bernie’s Book Bank, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding ways to help children develop their reading skills, is given to the best long snapper in college football.

Underwood became the first Gator to earn the award last season, when recorded three solo tackles and one fumble recovery across 111 snaps for Florida.

He carried that momentum into this season as he continued his stellar play. Underwood has taken 89 snaps and has recorded two solo tackles and a fumble recovery.

No. 5 Georgia’s Beau Gardner and No. 11 Oklahoma Ben Anderson join Florida as the only SEC schools with representatives for the award. Other schools in the mix include: No. 8 Oregon, No. 11 BYU, No. 18 Michigan, No. 19 Virginia, Boise State, North Carolina and Penn State.

Out of the 10 semifinalists, three will be selected to advance to the final round, with a winner being chosen on Dec. 13.

Category: College Football, Football, Gainesville, Gators Football, NCAA, SEC, University of Florida