Oklahoma Long Snapper Ben Anderson Lands on Preseason Watch List
With a new coach and analyst in charge, Oklahoma’s special teams are expected to be much improved in 2024.
But one big reason the Sooners should be better this year is that everyone involved in the kicking operation — from snapper to holder to punter to kicker — is back in 2024.
And starting the whole process with flawless execution on every placekick and punt is returning long snapper Ben Anderson.
Anderson this week landed a spot on the Patrick Mannelly Award Watch, the college football award that goes to the nation’s top long snapper.
Anderson, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound third-year sophomore from Charlotte, NC, started all 13 games last season as a redshirt freshman.
Anderson’s snaps were good on all 132 special teams plays last year, according to Pro Football Focus. That includes 43 punt snaps and 89 placekicks. His PFF grade as a special teams player was 61 or better in 12 of his 13 games.
Anderson was the nation’s top-ranked long snapper out of Charlotte Latin High School in the 2022 class and flipped to OU after originally committing to Georgia Southern.
He helped the Sooners’ special teams units transition seamlessly after the graduation of five-year starter Kasey Kelleher, who played in 63 career games (one off Bryan Mead’s school record) and snapped on all but one kick from 2018-22. Kelleher was a two-time preseason honoree for the Mannelly Award watch list.
In addition to Anderson, placekick holder (and backup punter/kickoff man) Josh Plaster is back, as is punter Luke Elzinga and kicker Zach Schmit, although the competition at kicker is expected to be wide open this season between Schmit, transfer Tyler Keltner and freshman Liam Evans. OU also adds a new special teams analyst in Doug Deakin, who replaces Jay Nunez.
The Mannelly Award was launched in 2019, so Oklahoma doesn’t have any previous winners yet.
Mannelly was a long snapper in the NFL for the Chicago Bears from 1998-2013 after being selected in the sixth round out of Duke. He set the Bears’ franchise record for most seasons (16) and most games (245), including Super Bowl XLI.