LONDON — Add game-winning long snapper to the job description already this season for Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton.
Run stopper? Always. Interior pass rusher? Better than you think. And emergency long snapper? Desperate times called for desperate measures in the Jaguars’ Oct. 11 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Ross Matiscik sustained a left shoulder injury (his arm was in a sling in the postgame locker room) in the first quarter and there was Hamilton warming up on the sideline. And there was Hamilton snapping to punter Logan Cooke. And there was Hamilton snapping for Cam Little’s kicks. And, to cap it off, there was Hamilton somehow, someway getting the football back to Cooke for Little’s game-winning 56-yard field
goal to give the Jaguars a 19-17 win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“Hopefully I don’t have to do it next week (against Houston),” Hamilton said. “But it was fun.”
And impressive.
“Unbelievable job by DaVon Freaking Hamilton,” center Robert Hainsey said with marvel.
Said Cooke: “He did a phenomenal job.”
Hamilton filled in at long snapper during last year’s win over the Tennessee Titans, but long snapping isn’t a regular part of his routine. He’ll dabble in it to stay sharp, but never against a rush since live field goal and point-after drills aren’t conducted in practice.
“We talked with (linebacker) Jahlani (Tavai) as a potential option, but D-Ham’s done it in games for us and we trusted him to do it,” coach Liam Coen said.
Hamilton snapped for two point-after attempts (one make/one miss) and four punts. The snaps on the punts (15 yards behind the line of scrimmage) were solid, but his place-kicking snaps were generally high. But that’s understandable, right? Imagine the energy, excitement and nerves going through his body during those high-pressure moments.
Helping Hamilton’s long snaps was having the 6-foot-5 Cooke there to collect them.
“Seriously,” Coen said. “He didn’t have to truly leave the earth every time to get those. He was able to keep his position while maybe getting one knee off. And his arms are long as well.”
Said Cooke: “His job is to get the ball to me somehow and he has the big ol’ mitts that are wrapped up in tape. For him to spin the ball and get it to me, that’s all I can ask for.”
Count on Hamilton as remaining an emergency option. If the Jaguars feel early this week that Matiscik won’t be ready to face the Texans, they’ll have to fly a new long snapper over the Atlantic Ocean.
But Hamilton he will always have the win over Philadelphia to remember.
“Stepping up for your team and helping them win games, it’s a big moment,” he said. “Whatever I can do, I’ll do it.”
And against the Eagles, Hamilton did.
Contact O’Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com or on X at @ryanohalloran. Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Tuesdays (6:35 p.m. on “Into The Night"), Thursdays (1:15 on "XL Primetime") and Fridays ("First Coast Football Friday" 4-7 p.m.).
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: 'Phenomenal job' by DaVon Hamilton stepping in as Jaguars' long snapper
