New OSU Cowboys Long Snapper Models Game After This NFL Star

With so much turnover in Oklahoma State’s football program, this new long snapper leans on his favorite NFL team’s long snapper for inspiration.

A general view of an Oklahoma State Cowboys helmet. | Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images

Long snapper is one of those specialized jobs that can lead to long employment in the NFL. It’s a particular set of skills few acquire.

That’s what new Oklahoma State long snapper Caden Yates hopes for one day. The Argyle, Texas, native spent three years at North Texas, some of which was under head coach Eric Morris, who took over the Cowboys this offseason. Yates was one of 17 Mean Green players to follow him and parts of his UNT staff to Stillwater.

The redshirt junior has at least two years of eligibility remaining and he already has an NFL player to model his game after.

Which NFL Player Caden Yates Emulates

Oklahoma State head football coach Eric Morris. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While Yates is from Texas, the NFL long snapper he watches the most plays well north of Oklahoma and for his favorite NFL team.

"I watch a lot of Andrew DePaola,” Yates said to OKState.com recently. “He's the long snapper for the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings are my team, so I watch a lot of him.”

DePaola is a long snapper worth emulating. The Rutgers product is now 38 years old and went undrafted in 2009 when he came out of school. Most long snappers don’t get drafted. They must make the roster the hard way. He did — and it took him three years after graduation. He landed with Tampa Bay as a rookie in 2012 and spent five seasons with the Buccaneers before he became a bit itinerant.

He played for the Chicago Bears in 2017, the Las Vegas Raiders (then in Oakland) in 2018 and the Carolina Panthers in 2019. He landed with the Vikings in 2020 and has been with them the past five seasons.

DePaola has found his groove with the Vikings. He’s been an All-Pro first team selection twice, an All-Pro second-team selection twice and is a three-time Pro Bowl selection. He was a second-team All-Pro last season.

If there a player for Yates to model his game after, it’s DePaola, one of the most successful NFL long snappers of the last half-dozen years.

Oklahoma State will open the season under Morris on Sept. 5 when the Cowboys travel to Tulsa. Then, OSU opens the home portion of its schedule on Sept. 12 when it hosts Oregon, which should be among the favorites for the Big Ten title.

The Cowboys open the Big 12 slate on Sept. 26 when they travel to Morgantown, W.V., to face West Virginia. It will be Oklahoma State’s first chance to snap its 18-game Big 12 losing streak. The Cowboys haven’t won a league contest since they beat BYU in overtime on Nov. 25, 2023. OSU followed that with a trip to the Big 12 Championship game against Texas.