Photo: Doug Peeler, Senior OL/long-snapper, Lake City Columbia HS , 6-2/265
By Heath A. Smith, DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
You get in your stance and line up the ball with your target. It's all on you now. One wrong move and you could be facing disaster.
That's what it is like for Florida A&M senior long-snapper Doug Peeler on the golf course and on the football field.
"Golf and long-snapping are similar," Peeler said. "You have to have a strong mind for both. You mess up a snap you have to get over it. In golf, if you slice a ball in the woods, you have to get over it just the same."
While golf is Peeler's spare-time passion, long-snapping has been Peeler's job for the Rattlers since his freshman year in 2004.
"I got my first playing time against Florida Atlantic," Peeler recalled. "Michael Bode was the starting snapper then, and he went down with a back injury. I lost my redshirt that year and have been starting ever since."
Peeler, a former third-team All-State center out of Lake City's Columbia High, may have the most important job that you never hear about on the team.
There are no statistics kept for successful snaps, but the fruits of Peeler's work can be found in the accomplishments of senior place-kicker and punter Wesley Taylor.
The 2005 Associated Press Division I-AA All-American and 2006 first-team All-MEAC selection said he knows exactly where he would have been the last two years without Peeler's snaps.
"Nowhere," Taylor said without hesitation. "I wouldn't be anywhere without him. He starts everything off for me from field goal snaps to punt snaps. A bad snapper can make a punter and kicker look really bad. Every time he gets the ball in, he makes my job a lot easier.
"Knowing that Doug is back there takes a lot of stress off me. I know the snap is going to be there every time, so that is one less thing that I have to worry about."
So how does somebody end up becoming a long-snapper, anyway?
Peeler said he got his start as a sophomore at Columbia back in 2001.
"In the 10th grade I got moved up to varsity at the beginning of the season and the coach told me to learn how to do it," Peeler said. "I went back down to JV and learned how to do it. When we made it to to the playoffs my sophomore year, that was the only way I got on the field."
Not everybody can be a good long-snapper, according to head coach Rubin Carter, which is why he said so many have such long careers in the NFL.
"They (long-snappers) don't ever see any action on the offensive and defensive lines," Carter said. "We can't risk Doug getting hurt. He's been very good in utilizing his ability to be able to help us. I know that Wesley appreciates his ability."
Peeler said former head coach Billy Joe promised him he'd get an opportunity to work with the offensive line if he snapped for a year.
Peeler said he used to ask offensive-line coach Kevin Thompson and offensive coordinator Bob Cole about getting a shot to work with the offensive line, but he is at peace with his role on the team.
"I played offensive line in high school, and that's my passion," Peeler said. "I understand, though, and I want to do what's best for the team. If they need me just to long snap, then that is what I'm going to do.
"Some of the guys give me a hard time, but they respect what I do. They know how hard it is. Like I said, you can be perfect all year long, then you mess up one snap against Bethune-Cookman in front of 80,000 people, you are going to be noticed walking off that field."
You get in your stance and line up the ball with your target. It's all on you now. One wrong move and you could be facing disaster.
That's what it is like for Florida A&M senior long-snapper Doug Peeler on the golf course and on the football field.
"Golf and long-snapping are similar," Peeler said. "You have to have a strong mind for both. You mess up a snap you have to get over it. In golf, if you slice a ball in the woods, you have to get over it just the same."
While golf is Peeler's spare-time passion, long-snapping has been Peeler's job for the Rattlers since his freshman year in 2004.
"I got my first playing time against Florida Atlantic," Peeler recalled. "Michael Bode was the starting snapper then, and he went down with a back injury. I lost my redshirt that year and have been starting ever since."
Peeler, a former third-team All-State center out of Lake City's Columbia High, may have the most important job that you never hear about on the team.
There are no statistics kept for successful snaps, but the fruits of Peeler's work can be found in the accomplishments of senior place-kicker and punter Wesley Taylor.
The 2005 Associated Press Division I-AA All-American and 2006 first-team All-MEAC selection said he knows exactly where he would have been the last two years without Peeler's snaps.
"Nowhere," Taylor said without hesitation. "I wouldn't be anywhere without him. He starts everything off for me from field goal snaps to punt snaps. A bad snapper can make a punter and kicker look really bad. Every time he gets the ball in, he makes my job a lot easier.
"Knowing that Doug is back there takes a lot of stress off me. I know the snap is going to be there every time, so that is one less thing that I have to worry about."So how does somebody end up becoming a long-snapper, anyway?
Peeler said he got his start as a sophomore at Columbia back in 2001.
"In the 10th grade I got moved up to varsity at the beginning of the season and the coach told me to learn how to do it," Peeler said. "I went back down to JV and learned how to do it. When we made it to to the playoffs my sophomore year, that was the only way I got on the field."
Not everybody can be a good long-snapper, according to head coach Rubin Carter, which is why he said so many have such long careers in the NFL.
"They (long-snappers) don't ever see any action on the offensive and defensive lines," Carter said. "We can't risk Doug getting hurt. He's been very good in utilizing his ability to be able to help us. I know that Wesley appreciates his ability."
Peeler said former head coach Billy Joe promised him he'd get an opportunity to work with the offensive line if he snapped for a year.
Peeler said he used to ask offensive-line coach Kevin Thompson and offensive coordinator Bob Cole about getting a shot to work with the offensive line, but he is at peace with his role on the team.
"I played offensive line in high school, and that's my passion," Peeler said. "I understand, though, and I want to do what's best for the team. If they need me just to long snap, then that is what I'm going to do.
"Some of the guys give me a hard time, but they respect what I do. They know how hard it is. Like I said, you can be perfect all year long, then you mess up one snap against Bethune-Cookman in front of 80,000 people, you are going to be noticed walking off that field."
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