Under Armour Journal: Alex Peitsch On His Craft As A Long Snapper
Washington (D.C.) St. John's College High long snapper and Notre Dame Fighting Irish signee Alex Peitsch met with Blue & Gold Illustrated recruiting insider Mike Singer after an Under Armour All-American Game practice.
Hear from the Future Irish snapper below.
On being an Under Armour All-American
"It's been really cool. It's what I expected, but it's surreal that I'm out here. There's all of these great athletes and you get a lot of gear. I'm really happy to be out here."
On meeting fellow Notre Dame signees Drew Pyne and Chris Tyree
"I met Chris on my official visit actually. We went to a meeting together. So I kind of met Chris before and I met with Drew here. He's a cool guy. They're both great dudes. They're humble and down to earth and I really respect them."
On the attention to detail of long snapping
"It's like anything else. If you do it enough, you get good at it. It really becomes an art the better you get. There are very small things, like if you have too much weight on the ball or too much weight back, that can throw things off. You have be a perfectionist to be a specialist. It's the same with being a kicker and punter."
On his start as a long snapper, which began in the 7th grade
"I had to do it for my youth team. I was pretty good at it, and my dad told me that I could go far with this. I realized that too. I went down in the basement and started doing snaps and kept doing them consistently. I started going to Kohl's camps and that was really helpful. I refined my game and worked at it, just being consistent is the biggest thing. Even in the 7th grade, my mindset was to play in the NFL. Once it really became a reality was when I started getting recruited by colleges, which was my junior year. And then getting the scholarship from Notre Dame really tied it all together."
On ND starting long snapper John Shannon opting not to return for a fifth year
"The day Coach Polian first called me, he told me that John wouldn't come back for his fifth year, so I've always known. That was the main reason they started recruiting me, because they needed a snapper for next year. I'm up for it; I'm ready for it."
On coming in as basically a locked-in long snapper starter
"I like to keep my mind just on the snap and less about the situation I'm in. That really helps me a lot when I'm snapping."