Sierra Vista long snapper considered one of the nation’s best

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Saturday, May 13, 2017 | 2 a.m.

If you are considered the ninth best prospect nationally at your high school football position, there’s a good chance you have a scholarship offer locked up a few months before your senior season.

You, actually, should have double-digit scholarship offers, and be able to pick from a who’s who of notable programs.

But when that position is long-snapper, the offers are few.

That’s something Sierra Vista High rising senior Brendan Bentley has come to realize this offseason. He’s excelled at national snapping events to become the ninth-best long snapper in the 2018 class, according to Rubio Long Snapping. Rubio trains and evaluates about 400 players, making the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Bentley a 4.5-star recruit on the group’s scale of five stars.

“You have to be patient,” Bentley said. "We (long snappers) realize they aren’t looking for a snapper right off the bat.”

Offers typically don’t come until late in the recruiting calendar because college coaches are more concerned with gaining commitments from every-down players such as running back and linebacker before filling out their speciality position. And many programs use walk-on players for positions such as kicker, punter and long snapper.

Bentley’s 15-yard snap speed — the equivalent of snapping the ball from the line of scrimmage to the punter — is 0.74 seconds. Rubio's system indicates he’s a fringe Division I prospect.

“His accuracy and speed are balanced like a college long snapper,” reads his evaluation on Rubio’s website. “Love to see him focus on increasing his athleticism and making sure he gets his butt down just a tad more to increase the speed of his ball. Easily could do this in college with some tiny adjustments.”

Bentley also plays center for Sierra Vista and will get reps this season at defensive line. But it’s at long snapper where he’s been honing his craft since middle school.

“Honestly, it was my mom,” Bentley said of how he got into snapping. “I started off at center and she didn’t know how big I would get.”

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21