Washington Huskies Football: Long Snapper A.J. Carty gives a Verbal Commitment

The latest verbal commitment for the 2015 recruiting for the University of Washington comes from long snapper A.J. Carty. Carty, is out of Servite High School in Anaheim, California. At 6’3′ 240 lbs Carty fits the bill of what you would expect to see size from a long snapper. In addition, he has strong special teams camp performances previously at schools such as UCLA.

Carty, is ranked at number four among the top 12 long snappers in country according to the guru of long snapping Chris Rubio.

On the surface it would be easy to ask the question why would anyone burn a scholarship on a long snapper. My response would be why not use one if you know as a coach that without a doubt that particular player can get the job done.

Over a five year period if things go well for the Huskies they would be playing upwards of 70 games. Consequently, with the amount of punts, extra points, and field goals that would take place over that time snapping is very valuable. The other thing is with the highly competitive of the Pac-12 games could be very easy swing with a special teams blunder.

Case in point look at the 2012 Apple Cup where Travis Coons missed a 35-yard field yard field goal attempt that would have won the game in large part because of a bad snap. That one play epitomizes Steve Sarkisian’s lack of attention to detail as a whole and especially on special teams.

Win that game you have eight wins heading into a bowl and probably get a ninth because you have momentum on your side as a program.

In the end, this move to offer Carty a scholarship is a savvy one by Chris Petersen and his staff. It shows a total commitment to every position being very valuable. It also shows attention to detail that has been sorely lacking in the Husky Football program from previous coaching regimes.