Playing college football wasn’t on Brian Mayer’s agenda after his sophomore season of high school. That changed after he learned from his great uncle how to long snap and won the starting job going into his junior season.

Long snappers are responsible for snapping the ball between 7 and 15 yards on field goals or punts. If their name is known by fans it’s usually because they screwed up a snap, hurting the team.

“Yeah, [Brian and I] always joke about that,” said Bobby Ramlet, backup long snapper and Brian’s roommate. “We always make the joke that we could have a perfect game [and] no one would notice, but then if we have one bad snap then everyone’s on our case.”

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Brian has been the Huskies’ starting long snapper for the last four years after redshirting his freshman season. But, long snapping wasn’t on Brian’s radar until he learned the trade from his great uncle — or, as he calls him, Uncle Dick.

Dick Knox, Brian’s mom’s uncle, lived in Texas and visited the Mayer family in Orland Park once or twice per year, according to Brian. It was when Knox came up for a family party during Brian’s sophomore year of high school that Brian learned the art of long snapping, which led him to NIU.

“We were just kind of joking around, throwing the football outside … and he just said, ‘Hey, let me teach you how to do something; you know, it’s a nice way to get into college,’ and kind of showed me [long snapping] little by little,” Brian said. “We basically did that for the rest of the night.”

The repetition needed to perfect the long snap was something Brian learned from his uncle and worked on with his coaches at Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park. The day before he began the summer camp of his junior season at Sandburg he spent several hours outside snapping the ball so he could get his form down.

“It was pretty strenuous on my body,” Brian said of that day. “My legs were tired, and I was getting dizzy from being in a squatting stance with my head between my legs. My arms started getting Jell-O-y, but I was fine the next day.”

For Brian, it wasn’t about snapping the ball until he got it right; it was about snapping the ball until he couldn’t get it wrong.

Brian had one snap that sailed over the punter’s head early on at Sandburg, where he also played tight end his junior and senior seasons, but he said he hasn’t had any snaps that really affected the play since then. He prides himself on being a perfectionist — ragging on Bobby to always pick up dirty dishes and clothes to keep the living area spotless — which is something that’s not lost on his teammates.

“Every single day he comes to work,” Bobby said. “This is my first year without him being my lift partner every week; for the first two years I was lifting with him. Every single time he came to the weight room he came to work, and I think it further showed me the right way to work.”

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Unlike traditional long snapping where the snapper uses the laces on the ball, Brian snaps without the laces. Not using the laces in snapping the ball is something Uncle Dick showed Brian after he struggled with his first few snaps. Brian played quarterback at Sandburg his freshman and sophomore season, and he would throw the ball without the laces because it was more comfortable for him. When he couldn’t long snap well with the laces his uncle had him switch it up.

“When I first started using laces he noticed that I couldn’t get a spiral with it, so he told me to try and not use laces,” Brian said. “… So, he had me do that, and it ended up working out very well for me.”

Brian had the chance to put his new skill on display during football summer camp heading into his junior season of high school. David Wierzal, Brian’s high school coach, holds a long snapping competition during each summer camp where any players who are interested can try out. Wierzal uses the competition instead of just “plopping some kid” into the long snapper role because the “position is so critical” and “one bad special teams play can cost you a ball game.”

“There was about 10 of us, and basically we just kind of dwindled down to the last two guys, and I ended up winning the spot just based off of that day, that 15 minutes out of practice,” Brian said.

Brian contacted his uncle right away to let him know the good news, and his uncle was “pretty excited.”

Uncle Dick died from cancer June 29, 2008, before he got to see Brian long snap in high school or make it college. Brian met up with his uncle’s grandson, Jackson, who is “a diehard fan” of his, and autographed a football and some memorabilia for him at a family party.

“The time that I had with [Uncle Dick] was awesome, and he taught me so much about not only football but also kind of being a man and how to approach certain situations the right way, how to be coachable — that was a big thing,” Brian said.

Brian remembers that his uncle’s lasting impression on him was to always work toward your passion. Whether it was sports or real life, he bestowed on Brian the message of setting goals and working toward them no matter what got in the way.

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After high school, Brian made his way to NIU with the assistance of Mike and Ryan Salerno, special teams players who attended Sandburg before playing for the Huskies. They informed the NIU coaches about Brian, who ended up walking on with the Huskies his freshman season.

After redshirting his first year, Brian earned a scholarship going into his second season and has been the Huskies’ long snapper for the past 53 games. He estimates that he snaps the ball 30-45 times per practice, including 10-15 in live-game situations; additionally, he does extra snaps on the sidelines throughout practice just to stay loose.

Looking back, Wierzal is far from shocked about the success Brian’s enjoyed.

“He was probably one of the most selfless, team-oriented kids we had on the team,” Wierzal said. “He was very committed and passionate about long snapping. He was the best long snapper I’ve had in my years as head coach at Sandburg.”

That passion comes from the “lasting memory” Brian has of Uncle Dick teaching him long snapping.

“Also, I just liked the pressure of it,” Brian said. “I like the feeling of knowing that I need to perform well to have success. I don’t know why, but I’ve always been the type of person that I love the pressure. It’s also a fun position, you could say. I love being on special teams and being around the guys on special teams, and it’s just an overall fun position to play.”

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Brian is set to graduate from NIU in December with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a minor in sign language. In the spring semester he’ll enroll at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills to work toward becoming a firefighter. But, he still plans to work on perfecting his long snapping with the hopes of playing in the NFL.

“Honestly, I’m one of those kids where since I was younger I’ve always wanted to be a firefighter,” Brian said. “… I’ve always wanted to be active with my career but also be able to help people.”

Brian’s savoring his final few games with the Huskies. He thinks about how proud Uncle Dick would be and thanks him each time he runs off the field at Huskie Stadium and touches the huskie statue in the north end zone.

“That’s what was kind of cool about it, was that one time he came to visit me he showed me how to long snap, and it stuck with me,” Brian said. “It’s incredibly special just being able to have those little moments with him, and in those little moments he could teach me so much and help me so much with my future.”