The Redskins Blog

Video: The Offseason Of A Long Snapper

When you think of a player training in the offseason, you’re probably going to envision a quarterback working on throwing drills or a linebacker in the weight room working on his strength and agility.

But what about the position on the field thought of the least — a position that can have just as much importance to the outcome of a game as that quarterback or that linebacker?

Washington Redskins’ long snapper Nick Sundberg is used to doing his job with little to no fanfare. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t working his tail off during his time away from the team.

Sundberg on Tuesday sat down with Larry Michael for an appearance on “Redskins Nation.” Sundberg — who was in Silver Spring, Md., Tuesday for the Washington Redskins 80th Anniversary Thank You Tour stop — said he was working out four days a week in steamy Phoenix to ensure every snap in 2012 is crisp and accurate.

Sundberg arrived to Redskins headquarters in Ashburn early this week to report in for training camp, which began today.

“I have a set of pads and a helmet back home that I was able to snap in to get used to,” Sundberg told Michael. “Because there’s always a transition being a long snapper, going from no pads for five months to getting thrown into training camp where you have to wear pads every day. So I took the last five weeks to train in the pads so there is no transition for me.”

Every Redskins punt and field goal requires a perfect Sundberg snap, which are the product of thousands and thousands of practice snaps outside of the game atmosphere that take away the pressure, Sundberg said.

“You don’t think about (the pressure),” Sundberg said. “That’s why I practice as much as I do. Muscle memory is a crazy thing, and once you are able to just let your body take over and do it for you, it takes away all of the pressure.”

Here’s Michael’s full interview with Sundberg: