Oct. 6, 2004
Editor's Note: This feature ran in the Oct. 2 edition of the Mizzou football gameday program.
by Kyle Parrish
Errors are common in sports. In baseball, the best hitters get out twice as often as they reach base. In football, four of 10 passes fall incomplete. Even the best linemen still miss blocks and the best linebackers miss tackles.
It's because errors are so common in sports that players like Zach Strom are so uncommon. The senior long-snapper from Columbia has made one error during his entire career at Mizzou. It's one he will never forget.
It was New Year's Eve, 2003. The Tigers were playing Arkansas in the Independence Bowl. Strom had made every snap for every punt and every place kick for three seasons and every one had made it safely into the hands of the punter or holder. During the second quarter of the game, the Tigers set up to punt on fourth down. That's when the impossible happened. Strom sent the snap spiraling over the head of punter Brock Harvey. The ball rolled all the way to the Tiger three-yard line. The Razorbacks scored three plays later. Strom was devastated.
"It was completely my fault," says Strom. "I took it pretty tough since I had never experienced that kind of thing before."
The situation was surreal for a player who had never missed a snap. The anonymity that Strom had enjoyed by being perfect for three years was suddenly dashed. Cameras zoomed in to get a shot of him sulking on the bench. Fans shuffled through their programs to find the name of "number 67." Criticism raged. Strom had snapped for a game winning field goal against Eastern Illinois and a game-changing fake field goal against Nebraska earlier that season, but this was one that earned him all the attention.
Strom's teammates however, didn't join in the criticism. They rallied around their friend and supported him as he went on to finish the game without any more miscues. Now, Strom looks back on the incident as one of growth rather than failure.
"It turned out to be one of the biggest learning experience in my life," says Strom. "Of course, that doesn't mean I'm glad it happened. I still wish I'd put my team in a better position in that game."
Strom can't have New Year's Eve back, but he has delivered every snap since. His consistency at an extremely difficult and pressure-packed position has been invaluable to the Tigers.
Long-snapper is a thankless position involving great skill and even greater pressure. Speed is essential in allowing the punter or kicker enough time to make a good kick. A snap's speed can be the difference between a kick and a block. Good snappers must deliver the ball to a punter standing 14 yards away in less than a second. Next of course, they have to block like a normal lineman. Strom consistently snaps the ball to Brock Harvey in six tenths of a second. Like a great player at any position, Strom's uncommon skill was untaught.
"[Snapping] is something that I always just knew how to do," says Strom. "In ninth grade, the coaches put a ball in my hand, and it came naturally. There's a lot of technique involved, but I just go out and do it."
For all his inherent skill, Strom credits Harvey and the Tigers' place kick holders for his nearly flawless run as a snapper in college.
"I get a lot of help," says Strom. "Brock goes and gets a lot of balls. Brad [Smith], Sonny [Riccio], and [Kirk] Farmer - they've made me look good out there."
Regardless of who receives the burden of credit, Strom's snapping gives the coaches one less thing to worry about during a week of preparation. So, while he's not doing reps to prepare for special teams play, Strom runs with the big boys on the offensive line. It's an odd looking fit for the 230 pound Strom to go to all meetings, warm-ups, and practice periods with a group of 300-pounders, but it suits him just fine.
"I like being with the O-line," says Strom. "When I first came here, I got referred to O-line in addition to my snapping duties. I went through freshmen camp as a lineman and it stuck."
While Strom's value to the team has kept him out of full contact drills as a lineman for three years now, being grouped with the line allows him to learn the whole offense. It also allows him to hang out with his good friends and fellow seniors Joe Gianino, Scott Paffrath, and Tony Clinker. Most of all, being grouped with the line demonstrates Strom's commitment to more than just his job, but to the team as a whole. Such selfless leadership garnered Strom Walk-On-Player of the Year honors in 2002, as well as a position on the team Leadership Council in 2004.
This season, Strom looks to further develop as a team leader by making sure that his job will be taken care of when he moves on.