58 Days Until Vikings Football: Austin Cutting Serves His Country and Snaps Footballs

As we count down the days until the Vikings' opener against the Packers on September 13th, InsideTheVikings will be previewing every single player on the roster. The amount of days remaining corresponds with the jersey number of the player being examined on that day. Today is July 17th, and there are 58 days until kickoff for the 2020 regular season. Long snappers are people too!

Countdown to Vikings-Packers on September 13th: 58 Days

Player Previews: Austin Cutting (No. 58, Long Snapper)

College: Air Force
Drafted: 2019 seventh round (250th overall)
NFL experience: One season
Age: 23 (Turns 24 in October)
Size: 6'3", 245
2019 stats: 259 snaps

Five members of the Vikings' 12-man 2019 draft class played in all 16 games as rookies. Top picks Garrett Bradbury and Irv Smith Jr. are the obvious ones, but you might be surprised to realize that the other three were all seventh-rounders. Bisi Johnson stepped up as the team's No. 3 receiver. Cornerback Kris Boyd was a key special teams player. And the fifth member of that group was the Vikings' last pick of the draft at No. 250 overall: long snapper Austin Cutting.

Yes, as I continue previewing all 87 players on the roster, that includes the long snapper. Keep reading, because he's actually pretty interesting.

Cutting grew up in Keller, TX, a suburban city in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and lettered in football, track, and power lifting in high school. On the football field, he started as an offensive lineman, but he picked up long snapping as a freshman and quickly took to it. Cutting then attended the United States Air Force Academy, and was the Falcons' primary long snapper from 2016 to 2018.

Because of his near-flawless performance as a three-year starter, Cutting began to get some interest from the NFL. He received an invitation to the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in January 2019, where he impressed in front of hundreds of scouts. He then had another strong day at Air Force's pro day two months later.

When the Vikings selected Cutting 250th overall, he became the first former Air Force player drafted since 1999 and the first long snapper ever drafted by the franchise. Out of the 32 current long snappers, he is one of just four who were taken in the draft.

The Vikings still had Kevin McDermott, who was their long snapper from 2015 to 2018 and is best known for losing the tip of his pinky finger during a game and playing through it. But they didn't use a draft pick on Cutting for him not to take over those duties.

The only question was whether or not he'd be allowed to suit up for the Vikings right away. Service academy graduates have a two-year service requirement, though there had been exceptions in the past for professional athletes. Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona attended Navy, was drafted in the fifth round in 2015, and was able to get something worked out to fulfill his duties while also playing in the NFL. He's been with New England ever since and is one of the best long snappers in the league.

The Vikings were in constant contact with Air Force after the draft. In June, a decision by President Trump changed the policy restricting service academy attendees from pursuing athletic careers after graduation. According to the Pioneer Press, Cutting's agent said "he believed Cutting would have been cleared to play regardless of Trump’s action, but that it expedited matters."

In July, Cutting became the final member of the Vikings' draft class to sign his contract. It was announced that he would fulfill his requirements by serving as a military recruiter in Minnesota while competing with McDermott to win the long snapper job.

Unsurprisingly, Cutting beat out McDermott and played in all 18 games (including playoffs) in 2019. His 259 snaps were eighth-most among NFL long snappers, and the fact that his name never came up during the season indicates that he did an excellent job. Cutting was a key part of helping Dan Bailey and Britton Colquitt have outstanding seasons.

Entering the 2020 season, Cutting has no competition for the long-snapper job in Minnesota. And for as long as he's with the Vikings, he'll continue to serve his country in some capacity or another. The Vikings would love to have Cutting as their long snapper for the next decade, like when Cullen Loeffler held that job from 2004 to 2014.

Check out all of our Vikings 2020 season preview content right here.

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