The Patriots have had a few guys pick up a surfboard the last few years.
Junior Seau. Tom Brady. And now, long snapper Jake Ingram. The Hawaiian native, who was picked in the sixth round of the NFL Draft late last month, is an avid surfer. But he’ll gladly set aside the board while he helps the Patriots try and find out if there’s life after Lonie Paxton.
“I can always surf. Surfing will always be there,” said the 6-foot-3, 232-pounder. “Football, especially an opportunity like this, is going to be a once in a lifetime thing. I’ll worry about the surfing part of things later.”
Some believe the idea of taking a long snapper with a draft pick is a bit of a reach -- after all, Paxton was an undrafted rookie free agent when he hooked up with the Patriots. But considering New England’s strong belief in the importance of special teams, it was hardly a surprise when the Patriots called Ingram’s name with the 198th overall pick.
“He’s an athletic guy, a little bit smaller than some of the snappers in the league, but a little bit more athletic than most of the snappers in the league,” said New England coach Bill Belichick.
“[He’s] an experienced guy. He’s done that. He can block. He can cover pretty well. His snaps are accurate; they had good velocity. So I think that he will be competitive for that position. I felt like he was a top player for his position in the draft.”
Ingram certainly has an impressive collegiate resume. Known as a perfectionist by the folks back at Hawaii, he was one of two long snappers invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, and he also garnered an invite to the Senior Bowl.
Hawaii coach Greg McMackin, who coached Ingram for two seasons, said Ingram is one of the most consistent long snappers he’s ever seen.
“At his college position, he was the best in the country. Period,” McMackin said.
“I’ve had him here the last two years, and he was 100 percent on all snaps. I don’t want to hex him, but I’ve never seen a bad snap from him,” McMackin added. “I think Bill Belichick has made an outstanding decision.”
Not bad for someone who had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the world of long snapping. He was an emergency fill-in in 2005 as a freshman, but it quickly became apparent he had a knack for it. Former Hawaii coach June Jones moved him there permanently.
“I was so young, and thinking, ‘He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I want to play D-end.’ Not really being selfish, but just wanting to do what I wanted to do,” Ingram recalled of that first discussion with Jones.
“But a few years into it, I started looking at other long snappers in college, and thinking, ‘Maybe I can do this. Maybe I will have a shot after this is all done.’ And that’s when I really out my head down and went full bore with it, and learned as much as I could.”
“He’s a really good athlete -- so valuable as a long snapper,” McMackin said. “He’s got that team mentality. Some special teams guys are individuals, but he has a real defensive mentality. He prides himself on making tackles on special teams. He’s got a lot of toughness.”
Now, it’s become a family business. Ingram’s younger brother is poised to take over the long snapping job with the Warriors next season. Ingram’s brother has been long snapping since his Pop Warner days, so it’s not a case of little brother following in big brothers’ footsteps.
“He’s done it his whole life, so he’s already got it down,” Ingram said of his brother. “I’m proud of him.”
Ingram is one of two guys (along with veteran long snapper Nathan Hodel, who will compete for the job in training camp) who will likely be asked to follow Paxton, who signed a free-agent deal with the Broncos in the offseason. It won’t be an easy feat -- Paxton’s eight-year career was chock-full of clean snaps, many of them under pressure in the biggest of games. Ingram acknowledges Paxton is the best around (Ingram calls him “awesome”), but says there’s no trepidation about stepping into the shoes of a long-snapping legend.
“No, I’m just kind of here doing my thing, you know?” he asked. “Just working hard and just trying to step up and make my place and show them it was a good choice for them to take me in the draft.”
Christopher Price covers the Patriots for WEEI.com.
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