Gators longsnapper named to Patrick Mannelly Award Watch List

Florida football’s redshirt junior long snapper Rocco Underwood was named to the 2024 Patrick Mannelly Award Watch List on Monday. The honor is bestowed upon the player determined as the best FBS long snapper each fall.

The fourth-year lineman from Lake Mary, Florida, has served as the starting long snapper for the Gators each of the previous two seasons, recording 78 total snaps in 2023 with only one missed connection with punter/holder Jeremy Crawshaw on the season.

Created in 2019, The Patrick Mannelly Award benefits Bernie’s Book Bank, a non-profit organization located in Lake Bluff, Illinois. The award is named for Patrick Mannelly, a 16-year NFL long snapper for the Chicago Bears.

Florida has had one previous athlete be named to a Mannelly Award watch list — Marco Ortiz who was selected prior to the 2022 campaign. He suffered an injury after the first game of the season, opening the door for the redshirt freshman Underwood to ultimately take his place.

The 10 semi-finalists will be announced on Nov. 11, with the list narrowed to three finalists who will be announced on Nov. 25. The winner will be selected at the live award ceremony in Lake Bluff on Dec. 14.

The complete list of nominees can be seen below.

Name School

Austin Brinkman West Virginia

Austin Riggs Rutgers

Beau Gardner Georgia

Ben Anderson Oklahoma

Brent Matiscik TCU

Byron Floyd Buffalo

Cayson Pfeiffer Wisconsin

Christian Johnstone Appalachian State

Colby Cox Memphis

Dylan Black Oregon State

Eli Stein Arkansas

Ethan Hudak Tulane

Hank Pepper USC

Hunter Rogers South Carolina

Jacob Garcia Utah State

JT Greep Utah

Julian Ashby Vanderbilt

Kneeland Hibbett Alabama

Luke Elkin Iowa

Luke Hosford Kansas

Nicholas Marino Florida Atlantic

Philip Florenzo Clemson

Rocco Underwood Florida

Ryan Wintermeyer San Diego State

Slade Roy LSU

Travis Drosos UCLA

Tucker Dunn Ball State

Tyler Duzansky Penn State

Will Halkyard Northwestern

William Wagner Michigan

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