Bedford Is a Long Way From Over the Hill : Football: Titan long-snapper, 27, takes a lot of kidding, but the speed and accuracy of his snaps measure up to NFL standards.

As Cal State Fullerton’s old kid on the block, tight end Robert Bedford gets his share of razzing from Titan coaches and teammates.

They call the 27-year-old senior Pops, Old Man and Bedrock. They ask him if he has taken his Geritol today or received his Social Security check this month.

“I tell guys he was my classmate at North Dakota,” Fullerton Coach Gene Murphy said. “I think they’re gonna name a wing for him down at the Gerontology Center.”

Bedford, who turns 28 Nov. 28--the day Fullerton closes the 1992 season at Nevada Las Vegas--takes all the good-natured ribbing in stride.

But based on a skill he performs better than any Titan and better than many other college football players, a more youthful nickname might be more appropriate for Bedford:

Whippersnapper.

That would best describe the action of a football when it leaves Bedford’s hands, travels through his legs and to the punter 15 yards behind him.

Bedford may not be drawing comparisons to former Fullerton tight end Jim Thornton, who now plays for the Chicago Bears, but he does compare favorably to former Titan Rory Ewing, who played in 1989-90 and was the best long-snapper Murphy has had in his 12 years at the school.

Bedford’s times for long snaps--from the moment the ball moves from the line of scrimmage to the moment it hits the punter’s hands--are usually in the .7-second range, good by even NFL standards.

His snaps are fast, accurate and consistent--he said he hasn’t snapped an uncatchable ball in one high school season, two junior college seasons and one college season.

“It’s a big part of the game, because a missed snap is going to cost you field position or a missed field goal,” said Bedford, who reported to practice with other Titan veterans Friday. “I don’t know if there’s a secret to doing it, but people can either do it or they can’t. It’s always come easy for me.”

Bedford is hinging his longshot NFL hopes on his long-snapping ability. An NFL team keeping a player just for long snaps is rare, but it has been done. Mike McDonald spent several years with the Rams almost exclusively as a long-snapper and is now with the Green Bay Packers.

“I would love to play somewhere after college, and I think I have an outside chance,” Bedford said. “Scratch the word ‘outside.’ I think I have a chance.”

When NFL scouts came to campus last spring to time players in the 40-yard dash, Bedford snapped a few balls on the side, even though he wasn’t asked to.

“I just wanted them to see how I could do it,” Bedford said. “I saw a few guys looking over at me.”

Murphy said while scouts always ask if good linemen or tight ends can snap for punts, he hasn’t received any NFL inquiries about Bedford.

“You can’t rate him as a pro prospect because, No. 1, he’s older than most coaches in the NFL,” Murphy said. “No. 2, it would be a big-time luxury for an NFL team to just carry him as a long-snapper.”

Murphy recruited Bedford from Golden West College as a long-snapper, but his play at tight end has been an added bonus. Bedford had only six receptions during a 2-9 season last year, but three of them went for touchdowns.

“He had more touchdown receptions than anyone else, which wasn’t saying a lot last year,” Murphy said. “But the fact is he wanted to be more than a snapper. He’s a competitive guy who worked his butt off. He’s a leader, and everyone on this team looks up to him.”

Bedford, now 6 feet 2 and 244 pounds, was a three-year letterman at Lawrence County High School in Lawrenceburg, Tenn. He was recruited by several Division I-AA and Division II schools, but after he tore ligaments in his knee in 1983 in the fourth game of his senior season, the college coaches stopped calling.

Bedford worked in a variety of jobs after graduating from high school, most of them in factories, and was employed in the packaging department of a Coors distributing plant when he decided he wanted to go back to school and play football. He was 24.

“I had a good job and was making good money, but I didn’t want to be in a factory my whole life,” Bedford said. “I wanted to coach and teach.”

A friend from high school, Rip Flippo, was playing for Golden West College at the time, and he persuaded Bedford to move to Huntington Beach in January, 1989.

Bedford had been working out since high school and stayed in shape playing softball and basketball. He made the Rustlers’ team as a tight end and long-snapper and caught 30 passes in two seasons, five for touchdowns.

He played a similar role for the Titans last season, but with two young and inexperienced quarterbacks, the passing game was usually ineffective. Bedford had his best game against Georgia, catching three passes for 31 yards and a touchdown and recovering a fumble on a punt during a 27-14 loss.

The Titans are switching to a run-oriented, option offense this season, but Bedford’s pass-catching role might actually grow.

“He becomes a primary target on the play-action plays, whereas with a drop-back quarterback, he’s more of an outlet,” Murphy said.

To become any target, Bedford is going to have to beat out two new old-timers, Long Beach transfer Jeff Williamson and redshirt junior Gerry McDonald, who both turn 26 in October and will battle for the tight end position.

Too bad there’s no Masters division in college football. The Titans could probably qualify.

“God, they’re old,” Murphy said of his tight end trio.

Bedford has extra incentive to earn the starting job for Fullerton’s Sept. 5 season opener against Cal State Northridge in the new Titan Sports Complex. He was the most valuable player of the first game played in his high school’s new stadium, catching seven passes for 176 yards and a touchdown in 1983.

“We won that game, 24-0,” Bedford said. “I’d like for us to have the same results in the first game of our new stadium and let that carry over through the season.”