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Oklahoma LS Ben Anderson Lands on Preseason Watch List

Anderson was a semifinalist for the award last year as college football's best long snapper.
John Hoover|
Oklahoma long snapper Ben Anderson
Oklahoma long snapper Ben Anderson | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

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Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma long snapper Ben Anderson might be the Sooners’ most decorated player this preseason.

On Tuesday, Anderson, a 6-foot-5, 241-pound fourth-year junior from Charlotte, NC, found himself back on the Patrick Mannelly Award preseason watch list as the best deep snapper in college football.

Anderson, a two-year starter on both placekicks and punts, is one of 30 included on this year’s watch list. Anderson's snaps have been virtually perfect for all three years.

According to Pro Football Focus, Anderson has snapped the football 245 times in his two seasons as Oklahoma’s starter. That includes 113 snaps last year and 132 in 2024 — with zero errors. He recorded 89 snaps on placekicks in 2023 and just 53 last year, while firing 43 snaps in punt formation in ’23 and 60 last season.

Anderson was a semifinalist for the 2024 Mannelly Award. He also was named third-team All-SEC in the Sooners’ inaugural season in the Southeastern Conference, and was named third-team preseason All-SEC this year by both  the SEC media and college football insider Phil Steele.

Anderson is one of five SEC long snappers on this year’s list, which includes 2024 winner Rocco Underwood from Florida. The others are Beau Gardner of Georgia, Jacob Graham of Texas A&M and David Bird of Alabama. Gardner and Underwood were named preseason first- and second-team All-SEC.

Anderson is one of three OU specialists on the preseason watch list for major position awards in 2025. He joins transfer kicker Tate Sandell, who was named to the Lou Groza Award watch list, and transfer punter Jacob Ulrich, was named to the Ray Guy Award watch list.

In all, the Sooners have eight players so far on preseason watch lists this season: running back Jaydn Ott was named to the Doak Walker Award watch list (top running back); quarterback John Mateer landed on the Walter Camp Award watch list (national player of the year); Mateer and Ott were also named to the Maxwell Award watch list (national player of the year); linebackers Kip Lewis and Sammy Omosigho were added to the Dick Butkus Award watch list (top linebacker), and Lewis was named to the Bronko Nagurski Award watch list (defensive player of the year); and safety Robert Spears-Jennings made the Danny Weurffel Award watch list (citizenship, community service).

It is widely expected that defensive end R Mason Thomas will find his way onto the Ted Hendricks Award watch list later this week.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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