Chris Longo snapped up for camps with L.A. Rams, Chicago Bears

Long-snapping is often an overlooked endeavor, but it just might get St. Francis High graduate Chris Longo into the National Football League.

So far, it’s earned him a chance with the Los Angeles Rams and the Chicago Bears.

Following three seasons as the UCLA Bruins long snapper, Longo was invited by the Rams and Bears to try out at rookie mini-camps on consecutive weekends.

“It’s extremely exciting,” said Longo, a 2011 St. Francis alumnus. “It’s kind of surreal.”

Following the conclusion of the 2016 NFL Draft on Saturday, Longo was contacted by the Rams and accepted an invitation to attend rookie camp in Oxnard from Thursday through Sunday, Longo said.

Longo was then called by the Bears on Sunday and will attend their camp the following weekend.

“It’s basically like a tryout,” Longo said.

Long snappers are seldom drafted. Baylor’s Jimmy Landes, graded as the top long snapper coming out of college, was selected in the sixth round Saturday by the Detroit Lions and told the Detroit Free Press, “I was very surprised. I was expecting free agency just because I know how rare long snappers rarely get drafted.”

Thus, Longo wasn’t expecting to be drafted, but he had already fielded interest in the way of workouts and phone calls from the likes of the Bears, Rams and New Orleans Saints.

Longo attended UCLA’s pro day and also snapped for kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn, who was the Lou Groza Award winner (given to the nation’s best kicker) and the Pac-12 Conference’s all-time leading scorer, during his workouts. Fairbairn was signed Saturday as an undrafted free agent by the Houston Texas.

“That worked out so I could go out and work out with him and get exposure through him,” Longo said.

The Longo-Fairbairn connection saw the latter connect on 20 of 24 field goals in the 2015 season while going a perfect 47 for 47 with point-after attempts.

Longo was the Bruins’ back-up long snapper when he redshirted in 2011 and as a redshirt freshman in 2012. Thereafter, Longo played in 39 straight games for UCLA, serving as the team’s long snapper for every game from his sophomore through senior seasons, beginning as a walk-on before earning a scholarship.

A 2015 UCLA graduate, Longo waited patiently and hopefully on Saturday before L.A. came ringing.

“I was kind of just waiting for after the draft to get some calls,” he said. “Sure enough, after it ended, I got a call from the Rams.”

And the Bears followed on Sunday and now Longo has two auditions upcoming to make his way into the NFL.