SEATTLE — Back when he was a superstar at Suwanee High School in Live Oak, Fla., Kelly Jennings was also his team’s backup long snapper.
On Sunday, Jennings was asked to reprise that role when Kevin Houser, the Seattle Seahawks’ usual long snapper, left the game with a shoulder injury.
Though Jennings was practicing long snaps on the sideline in the second quarter, he didn’t snap the ball in the game until the late seconds of the third quarter. Taking the field with Seattle’s punt coverage team, Jennings made an accurate snap to Seahawks punter Jon Ryan.
“I prayed about it before I went out there, and I got it back there,” said Jennings, a 5-foot-11, 180-pound cornerback.
Long snapping “is harder than you think,” he added. “It has to be perfect every time. If not then it’s a turnover or worse.”
Jennings had never snapped in an NFL game or during in his playing career at the University of Miami.
“But I used to keep doing it (at practice), just joking around, because I did it in high school,” he said. “I was just joking around here one day (last season) and they saw me snapping, and then they started talking about it.”
After Houser’s injury, which probably occurred in the first quarter, Jennings was practicing long snaps on the sideline, as were teammates Owen Schmitt, a fullback, and Will Herring, a linebacker. Those three take occasional practice snaps during the week, Jennings said, “but I always knew I was the backup.”
“(Jennings) is not your prototypical long snapper in the National Football League,” said Seahawks coach Jim Mora. “God forbid that we would have had to try a field goal.”
Houser went to the hospital for treatment after the game, which Tampa Bay won 24-7. He was receiving attention on the sideline from Seattle’s medical staff, but continued to snap until his final play, which was on a punt midway through the third quarter.
Houser, who was involved on the tackle of Bucs return man Sammie Stroughter, stayed on the turf for several moments and then left the game for good.
It was not a good game for Houser in other respects, too. He was flagged for a personal-foul penalty on Seattle’s first punt of the game, and then sent a low snap to Ryan, the holder, on Seattle’s first-quarter field goal attempt. The ball caromed away from Ryan and place kicker Olindo Mare was tackled after retrieving the loose ball.
Injuries
In addition to Houser, the Seahawks also finished the game without linebacker Aaron Curry for the second time in as many weeks. Curry was able to play this week despite suffering a hip pointer last weekend, but had to leave the game with a shoulder stinger. Curry tried to play though the injury, but Mora said the linebacker had no strength in his arm.
Receiver Ben Obomanu suffered a hamstring injury, and running back Julius Jones had to come out of the game with a rib injury, but was able to return.
Bucs celebrate
Sunday’s victory was just the second of the season for Tampa Bay, and the Bucs’ first road win since a Nov. 23, 2008, game in Detroit against the Lions.
“I didn’t think we could win on the West Coast,” said Tampa Bay head coach Raheem Morris. “Even when we were good, we couldn’t win on the West Coast.
“It was a lot of fun to come over here, get acclimated, and get settled in. We were able to fight for that thing and get a win. So just a win, period. And the other thing is to get one on the West Coast.”
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