Former Vanderbilt long snapper Scott Meyer gives a first-person account of his Vanderbilt Pro Day experience and what’s next as he prepares for an opportunity at the next level.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — As a walk-on coming out of high school, Pro Day has never been in the timeline I envisioned for myself.
Although I have always dreamed of an NFL opportunity, the chances never seemed real. I never really thought about the day I would be able to snap the football in front of NFL scouts.
Five years later, that is the only thing on my mind.
As I have spent the last three months training for this day, I have come to realize my love for football has grown even more. Instead of focusing on the end result, like I have most of my life, I have been able to dissect the game down to the progression.
I have had to learn the most beneficial ways to feed, stretch, strain and rest my body as needed. Mobility in the hips, shoulders and ankles has turned from being a hassle to being a priority. Foods I have always avoided, such as avocados and spinach, have turned into parts of my daily diet.
The journey kicked off fast.
Right after the season ended in December I received an invite to play in the Tropical Bowl down in Orlando, Florida with my Vanderbilt teammate Andre Mintze. The Tropical Bowl provided the opportunity to interview, practice and play a game in front of NFL scouts. For a senior coming out of college, every opportunity to play in front of NFL scouts is an opportunity worth taking.
A couple days before I started practice in Orlando I was invited to play in the Hula Bowl on CBS Sports Network two weeks later in Hawaii. This game provided another opportunity to be around scouts – plus who wouldn’t want to take a free trip to Hawaii?
It was even cooler to have former Commodore Jordan Matthews down in Hawaii with me as one of the coaches for my team.
While the trips and games were fun, I could not lose sight of the reason I was there – business. Throughout the whole experience my priority has always had to be my training.
In the beginning of January I moved to Orlando for five weeks to live in a house with 13 of the top long snappers, kickers and punters in this year’s draft class. We worked every day at a local field or gym, perfecting our crafts all with the same goals in mind.
When that five weeks was up I moved back to Nashville and started my pro day prep with my trainer, Justin Todd. J-Todd’s experience with mobility, combine training and working with professional long snappers is what drew me to him. Leading up to the big day, we focused specifically on training for 5-10-5 shuttle and 3-cone drill.
When watching the drills on television, I always thought it was just players running around cones as fast as they can, but there is a science to it. The steps are numbered and the smoother it is done, the faster I run.
Power is just as important as quickness because covering ground is the most important detail. With that in mind, we worked to grow power in my lower body while lifting. Explosive movements lead to explosive results and that is what I was chasing.
Speaking of power, Matt Overton helped me train for long snapping once I arrived back in Nashville. He was the long snapper for the Tennessee Titans last season and he has been in the NFL for eight seasons.
We worked on snapping, blocking and potential schemes seen at the next level. It was important for me to train with someone in the NFL because he has the most recent perspective of what NFL teams want. We came up with a plan for Pro Day and attacked it together.
The week leading up to Pro Day we dialed everything back. We let my body rest and my central nervous system shut down. I did not know the science behind it, but J-Todd told me it will blow my numbers up – and he was right.
On Pro Day, with my central nervous system kicked in, I ran fast, jumped high and snapped the best I could. I left it all on the table and I have no regrets about it.
— Vanderbilt senior Scott Meyer is a former long snapper for the Commodore football team
