The Michigan State Player Who Hopes You Don't Know Him
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EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Sometimes, the more you know about someone, the worse it is.
It's like knowing the name of an official in sports: if you know who that person is, it's probably not for a good reason. Long snappers are one of the few positions in sports that wish to remain as invisible as possible. Michigan State's new guy there is Oregon transfer Nick Duzansky, but he doesn't necessarily want you to know that.
"We don't have first down, second down, third down," Duzansky said Tuesday. "We have that one play to be perfect. If we mess up, everyone's going to look on us. Usually, no one knows our names until we mess up, and that's not really a good thing."
Duzansky is a redshirt junior with two seasons of eligibility remaining. He appeared in eight total games during his time with the Ducks, but this year is the year he's finally in line to earn a starting role. Incoming freshman Trey Serauskis is expected to be the backup.
Mental Side of Snapping
Duzansky's point about how snappers are only noticed when they make a mistake should be well taken. Most people watching football games at home aren't saying "Good snap!" when a team boots away a game-winning field goal. If it goes through, the kicker gets all the glory.
No attention goes to the snapper who delivered it in the perfect spot with the correct amount of rotations that helped ensure the laces would be facing away from the kicker. The holder doesn't get any credit for catching the snap and then getting the ball down quickly enough for the kicker to stay in rhythm.
Typically, the three-man operation lasts about 1.2 to 1.3 seconds, and there is much more nuance to it than most people realize. It also only goes down a handful of times per game. Life as a long snapper is a ton of time on the bench, always having to stay prepared for the unexpected touchdown that puts the field goal/PAT team back on the field.
"We always go to the mental side first, because we're not out there for 80 plays," Duzansky said. "We're out there for maybe four plays a game. The offense might drive down, and they might go for two, or they might go for one."
Connections to Fitz, Players
Special teams coordinator LeVar Woods is a big reason Duzansky chose Michigan State in the transfer portal, but Pat Fitzgerald is indirectly responsible for Duzansky picking up snapping. The father of one of Fitzgerald's long snappers at Northwestern, Will Halkyard, was Duzansky's football coach growing up.
Duzansky actually started his high school career as a kicker but converted to long snapper as a sophomore. That was at St. Francis High School, where he was teammates with redshirt sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic and freshman receiver Zach Washington.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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