Giants rookie center John Michael Schmitz used the “dead snap” in the shotgun formation in college, but he’s ready to change his technique in the NFL if quarterback Daniel Jones asks him to.
The dead snap, in which the center puts one point of the football in the palm of his hand and snaps it to the quarterback end-over-end instead of in a spiral, is more common in college than in the NFL. It’s what Schmitz did as an All-American center at Minnesota, but it’s not a technique he’s wedded to in the NFL.
“It’s whatever is comfortable for Daniel in the back,” Schmitz said, via the New York Post. “I’m flexible doing the dead-ball snap or the regular snap. It doesn’t change a thing for me.”
The Giants had Schmitz using the dead snap at their rookie minicamp, with head coach Brian Daboll saying for now the Giants just want Schmitz getting comfortable with the offense.
“There’s a lot of calls and a lot of different things that maybe we call things that he didn’t at Minnesota and maybe some more protections,” Daboll said. “Playing offensive line in this league — whether it’s tackle, center, guard — is a challenging position early on in your career.”
Schmitz said he considers the dead snap more comfortable but could easily change his technique.
“We’ll see,” he said, “if I stick with it or change it up.”