alumni today
SPORTS
His Job’s a Snap, But It’s Not Easy
Ethan Albright ’ 94, in his third NFL season in 1996, had still not established himself as
a long snapper. Undrafted out of UNC, he
had been waived three times as a rookie by the
Miami Dolphins two years earlier and suffered
a season-ending knee injury while playing for
the Dolphins in 1995.
In 1996, he was back with the Dolphins
when he was waived on a Wednesday prior to
the first game of the season. He got a call from
the Buffalo Bills and flew to upstate New York
to work out on a Friday. Albright was signed
by Buffalo and two days later his snap led to
the game-winning field goal by kicker Steve
Christie in overtime on the road against the
New York Giants.
“Obviously, it all worked out,” says
Albright, with a big smile on his face.
Albright played in all 16 games that season
for the Bills and did the same through the
2000 season. The Greensboro native signed
with the Washington Redskins before the
2001 season and, as of this midseason, had not
missed a game during his career with them.
“I didn’t set out to be an NFL long snap-
per. I was going to be a tight end. My goal
going out of UNC was to be an NFL line-
man,” notes Albright, a backup tight end,
guard and tackle early in his NFL career. “But
I was never good enough to get in a game [as
a lineman]. It was my best way to stay
around.”
The 2009 season was his 16th as a long
snapper in the NFL, which makes Albright
and David Binn of the San Diego Chargers
the deans of a rather small pro fraternity of
long snappers. “It is one of those things where
a lot of people on the team don’t care about
it. You know every time you go out there is a
low tolerance for mistakes,” he says. “Everyone
kind of takes it for granted until there is a
problem.
“I feel like it does matter. For me it has to
be perfect every time,” adds the 6-foot- 5
Albright, who made his first Pro Bowl in 2007
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE WASHINGTON REDSKINS
Ethan Albright ’ 94 says he practices snaps “so many times
we could do it with our eyes closed. ... Since people don’t
know me, that means I am doing my job well.”
and who estimates he makes at least 100 snaps
every day in practice. “We have done it so many
times we could do it with our eyes closed.”
Redskins placekicker Shaun Suisham is in
his fourth season working with Albright. “He
is the precise example of consistency and pro-
fessionalism,” Suisham says. “He is a snapper
that anyone would want to work with, and
that is why he has been in the league for 16
years.”
Albright got an early start as a snapper. “I
had an older brother. He made me practice in
the backyard. He took the time to say, ‘Here is
how you grip it.’ Fortunately, I had a knack for
it,” he says. He was a backup tight end for the
Tar Heels in 1989 when the regular long
snapper got hurt. “They throw me in there,”
he recalls of a game against South Carolina.
Albright has stayed in touch with former
roommate and teammate Rick Steinbacher
’ 93, an associate athletic director at UNC in
marketing and promotions. “He is a guy that
will always have your back and will be there
for you in good times and bad,” said
Steinbacher, who was in Albright’s wedding
party. Albright and his wife, Katherine ’ 93,
have two daughters and two sons and maintain
a year-round home in Greensboro.
Read extended pieces in Class Notes:
Feature Profiles
George Stoney ’ 37, page 72
Santiago Gangotena ’ 78 (PhD), page 86
Andrea Marie Dietrich ’ 88 (PhD), page 90
Davis Whitfield ’ 93, page 93
Fred Stutzman ’00, page 94
Charlie Todd ’01, page 96
In Memoriam
Elmer R. Oettinger Jr. ’ 34, page 70
Richard Aaron Katz ’ 46, page 74
An Alumni Today profile in the November/
December 2009 Review mistakenly reported that
Henry Ell Frye ’ 59 (JD) was the first African-American to receive a law degree from UNC.
Harvey Beech ’ 52 (LLB) was the first to do so.
Correction
