To the casual football fan, a long snapper such as Trey DuBuc of Cardinal Gibbons High School is one of those players you don’t really pay much attention to – until something goes wrong. A snap over the punter’s head, for example, or a long snap that rolls to the punter. A long snapper could go for an entire season – or career – and never make a mistake or get noticed. And that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.
While the everyday fan may not pay a lot of attention to or understand the true value of the long snapper, coaches certainly know how important the position and the player is to their teams’ success.
Still, college programs, for the most part, haven’t devoted a lot of time to recruiting the position, and they certainly haven’t dedicated a full scholarship spot to the specialist. Generally, if a high school long snapper is highly rated by the kicking camps, an invitation to walk on is usually extended to the player, but not much more.
But that practice may be changing. DuBuc is part of a very small sample size of long snappers who have, er, bucked the trend. The senior and son of Chiefs head coach Matt DuBuc is one of a handful of 2023 recruits who were offered a full scholarship to a Division 1 school as a long snapper.
The University of South Florida offered him in January. DuBuc is currently the No. 2-ranked long snapper in the country by 24/7 sports composite ranking, and the 12th-ranked long snapper in the country by the Rubio Long Snapping Camp. Trey is just the fourth player overall in the Bulls 2023 class to sign a full scholarship.
Growing up in a family centered around football, Trey began playing at an early age. His father played wide receiver at Cardinal Gibbons before receiving a scholarship to play at Texas Tech. He went on to play professionally in the Canadian Football League before returning to his alma mater, where he has served as the team’s head coach for the past seven years. DuBuc and his wife, Melanie, have another son, Trent, who also plays at Cardinal Gibbons, as a wide receiver.
But for Trey, he was drawn to the long snapper role as far back as he can remember.
“I always was the center and long snapper for my little league team, the Pompano Beach Eagles, but I really had no idea how to truly be a long snapper,” he said.
As he entered the eighth grade, he said he wanted to keep doing it, and that’s when Dad stepped in.
“We got Trey a lesson with a long snapper coach, and Trey took to it very fast,” said coach DuBuc.
Trey said his long snapping coach told him he had a lot of potential as a long snapper, and he encouraged him to stick with it.
“That, along with my dad always encouraging me, really helped me, and that’s when I decided to stick with it,” Trey said.
Matt DuBuc said Trey was good enough to start right away on the varsity team.
“He started as a freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior as our long snapper,” said the Chiefs coach.
In addition to being able to snap the ball to the punter, or the holder on kicks, what are the key measurements for a successful long snapper?
“First is the time it takes the snap to reach the punter,” DuBuc said. “The top collegiate and NFL-caliber long snapper is in the .65 to .75 second range. Trey is right now getting close to that same snap count.”
Rubio Long Snapping’s Chris Rubio called Trey “a very strong long snapper who snaps like a caveman, and I love it. His ball is very fast and definitely at college speeds. He has a great attitude and handles pressure well, and when Trey locks down his release point, he doesn’t miss.”
In addition to Rubio’s Long Snapping, Trey has received recognition from the other top long-snapping ranking organizations, including Kohl’s Kicking and Kornblue Kicking. Both organizations have given the South Florida standout specialist a five-star rating, with Rubio naming Trey a “Top 12 Member,” a highly-coveted designation reserved for the best long snappers nationally. He also was selected to play in the U.S. Army All American Bowl Game last season.
Trey said that despite the top honors and rankings, he realizes he still has a lot to learn before beginning his college career as a member of the USF Bulls.
“I’m always learning and wanting to improve the technical part of my long snapping,” he said.
That includes watching the professionals on Sundays.
“Yeah, I can see a guy in the pros doing something and think that I should try that, or even if its a college guy, I know there’s still a lot to learn,” he said.
Speaking of learning, there’s no one better to learn from than an NFL long snapper, and that’s exactly the opportunity that Trey has had.
“My favorite long snapper is Luke Rhodes of the Indianapolis Colts,” he said. “I get the chance to train with him when he’s in South Florida [during the offseason], and he’s a great guy I have learned a lot from. I have taken tips from him, and I feel like we are very similar in how we snap the ball.”
Trey added that the hardest part of being a great long snapper is more than just the physical challenge.
“I think the hardest thing about being a long snapper is the mental part of it, like not overthinking it,” he said. “I like to just get down and have a good grip on the ball and let it rip. When I have too much time to think, that’s a problem.”
Just grip and rip it, Trey.
