Comparing long-snapping to golf may sound like a stretch.
But when you do as much of both as Beau Gardner, it’s no surprise the second-year Bulldog can draw some similarities
“I kind of compare it to golf sometimes, where it's the same swing and just trying to become really consistent at doing the same thing over and over again,” said Gardner, who transferred to Georgia two years ago from UCLA. “In practice, kind of ranges between, like, maybe 40 snaps to maybe 80 snaps, depending on if it's a light or heavy day.”
Kind of like golf, a sport Gardner played with his family.
“My family plays a lot of golf, so yeah, I like to compare it to that,” Gardner said. “It makes it (long-snapping) a little more fun.”
He’s already pretty good.
Snapping may seem easy, but to do it effectively, rep after rep after rep is not as simple as you might think.
“Beau is one of the best snappers in the country, was up for I think it's the Patrick Mannelly Award and came close to winning that, probably will have a chance to do that this year,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “He's a tremendous athlete, comes from a great family, and he does everything we ask.”
Much of the daily work is done on his own.
“It depends on the day a little bit. Today we had a heavy snap day, as we call it, where we had a punt period and a field goal period, but kind of throughout practice,” Gardner said. “We'll warm up at the beginning and get loose a little bit. It gets monotonous at times, so we try to do things that are fun. We’ll have competitions with the other snappers that are here. It’s just a lot of reps.”
The opportunity to perfect his craft at Georgia has been everything that Gardner had hoped.
“When I was kind of deciding what I should do two seasons ago, I decided to go into the transfer portal looking for a new spot, and Georgia reached out,” Gardner said. “I was really looking to kind of get out of my comfort zone and get out of California, where I've been my whole life. And Georgia was a perfect spot. They have a long history of excellence, and, you know, to be the best, you have got to be around the best. I think the standard at Georgia is super high, and being in this environment with, like, great people, great coaches, great teammates, has been great for me, and that's the main reason I wanted to come here.”
Naturally, there were some adjustments to be made, both on and off the field.
Both the weather and food were a lot different than what he was used to.
“When I got here last summer, the weather was a big thing for me. I was sweating through my shirt walking to class or whatever,” said Gardner, who hails from San Francisco. “But the food was a little bit different - a lot of fried food. I had my fun for a little while, and then I realized I had to take it back on the fried food. It was a little weird at first, adjusting from a big city to a smaller town.”
Having good teammates helps there. Gardner credits kicker Peyton Woodring.
“He inspires me to work hard because, obviously, what I do affects his job,” Gardner said. “Just knowing that there are guys that rely on me to be great helps me a lot when I get into a little funk or something. But, yeah, Peyton's awesome. It’s been great working with him.”
