OH, SNAP: Maultsby playing senior season at nationally-ranked IMG Academy

ROCKINGHAM — Perhaps one of the most undervalued positions in football to the average fan is the long snapper. But ask Gray Maultsby, and he’ll say it’s one of the more important roles.

Every successful extra point, field goal or punt starts with the execution of a quality snap, an often overlooked skill Maultsby has been perfecting since his middle school playing days.

His time in the trenches over the past five years has paid dividends, as Maultsby recently accepted a spot on the IMG Academy national football team after being heavily recruited.

In a tweet posted June 2, Maultsby wrote, “Very excited to announce that I will be finishing high school playing football for @IMGAFootball !! Thank you to everyone who made this possible.”

A rising senior, Maultsby was a three-year member of the Richmond Senior High School football program. Starting the past two seasons primarily at right tackle, Maultsby also served as the Raiders’ long snapper.

What started as a general interest from IMG Academy and head coach Billy Miller over the offseason quickly snowballed into a potential life-changing opportunity for Maultsby, an All-Sandhills Athletic Conference selection as a junior, this spring.

“Coach Miller first reached out to me in December,” Maultsby explained. “We stayed in contact throughout the winter and things really started to pick up more and more in March and April.

“Everything happened really quickly once IMG made me an offer to join the school and the team,” he continued. “I believe this was the best decision for me to get better and develop myself as a player.”

With his decision to play at IMG Academy, which is based in Bradenton, Fla., Maultsby becomes the second Richmond student-athlete to join a national program the last few years.

Recent graduate Paul McNeil Jr., now a freshman player at North Carolina State University, played basketball at Prolific Prep Academy in Napa, Calif., for part of the 2022-23 season.

““It feels great making this decision and knowing I’ll get a chance to play at a high level, even though it was a difficult choice,” Maultsby shared.

“The coaching staff really drew my attention, and their next-level facilities are unreal. Everything considered, I felt this was the best opportunity to help me grow as a student and player.”

In addition to long snapping for the Ascenders, Maultsby said there’s a potential he’ll also line up at tight end.

When he was in seventh grade at Rockingham Middle School during the 2019 season, Maultsby wasn’t getting a lot of playing time. To help himself get more reps in games, he started teaching himself how to snap.

With the niche skill set, and a growth spurt that has Maultsby standing 6-4, 250 pounds, he quickly transcended the position to become one of the most notable high school recruits in the country.

Training locally with Brett Heimrich, a former snapper at Appalachian State University, Maultsby has also spent the offseason making rounds to camps all across the country.

Among his top stops were specialist camps at NCSU, the University of North Carolina and the University of South Carolina. He also worked out for the coaching staff at UNC.

Last month, Maultsby competed in the Hammer Kicking Academy Top 40 invite camp in Orlando. He recently returned from Lewiston, Idaho, where he placed as one of the top performers in the nationally renowned Chris Rubio Long Snapping Top 12 camp.

Invited to several other camps, including sessions at the University of Miami and Pennsylvania State University, Maultsby’s biggest takeaways from training with some of the best has been the need to remain consistent and poised.

“The most important thing I’ve learned is that consistency is everything,” Maultsby explained. “I’ll gradually get better as a long snapper if I have the same motion and technique every time.

“Confidence is really important, too, at this position. I was able to learn how to perform under pressure on big stages at these camps and that is something I’ll continue to use.”

IMG Academy is currently ranked at the No. 3 team in the nation ahead of the 2024 season according to MaxPreps. A season ago, Miller and the Ascenders finished 10-0 and were No. 4 in the final national rankings.

Miller, who has been the head coach since 2014, was a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ special teams staff, an added benefit for Maultsby.

In addition to being an elite athletic boarding school, IMG Academy will offer Maultsby an equally impressive academic experience.

In 2023, the school was named a top three finalist in the World’s Best School Prizes and was this year’s Most Recommended Boarding School in the USA & Canada by K12 Digest.

Following the 2022-23 school year, IMG Academy had a 100% college acceptance rate and 265 student-athletes committed to D-I, D-II, D-III or NAIA programs.

“I want to bring a winning attitude and a desire to get better every day to the team,” Maultsby said. “And I want to have a great experience on the field and in the classroom, and try to reach my full potential as a student-athlete.

“My ultimate goals are to win a national championship, finish No. 1 in the country and earn a college scholarship to play football in a Power 5 conference.”

Maultsby received his first college offer from UNC Pembroke in May and said there’s “been interest from several other programs” regarding college recruitment. He hopes, however, to see his stock rise quickly following his year of training and playing for the Ascenders.

While a literal whole new horizon awaits Maultsby and his quest to reach the college level, he’s not quick to forget the impact the Richmond program had on him and his development.

“Being a part of Richmond’s program helped me a lot,” Maultsby explained. “Through all the ups and downs, my teammates and I worked hard and didn’t quit.

“We learned how to overcome obstacles together as a team and that really helped strengthen my work ethic. All of these are things that are important and will help me at IMG.

“I’d like to thank the entire Richmond coaching staff for developing me as a player and a person the last three years,” Maultsby closed.

Set to move to Bradenton this month, Maultsby and IMG Academy will open the season at Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah on Aug. 22.