Actor Mark Wahlberg starred in the 2006 film “Invincible”, detailing the true story of Vince Papale, a local bartender who made the Philadelphia Eagles’ roster after attending an open tryout in 1976.
There is no feature film in the works about Duke Football, yet the Blue Devils’ team features its own version of Vince Papale.
His name is Will Snyderwine.
During the 2007 season, under then-head coach Ted Roof, the program placed an advertisement in The Chronicle inviting all undergraduates to attend an open kicking tryout. The ad specifically requested players with some level of field goal-kicking experience.
Then-freshman Snyderwine was a standout. He not only impressed the coaches enough to earn a roster spot, but enough to dress for the Blue Devils’ next game.
And ironically enough, the day before the tryout, Snyderwine had no plans to even attend.
“Under Coach Roof, the team had a little trouble and had an open tryout. I was on the club rugby team at the time and the coaches sent out an email to all club sports,” Snyderwine said. “Two of my friends who were also playing on the rugby team and lived in my dorm told me about it and insisted that I [go].”
Prior to attending the tryout, the Maryland native did not think he had any chance at making the team and largely attended to appease his friends.
Before Duke, the junior kicker lettered in soccer and rugby at Landon High School in Bethesda, Md. and also competed for the U-19 national rugby team. Initially, just like in college, Snyderwine did not have any interest in putting on pads for his school. A similar situation to the 2007 tryout, however, ended with Snyderwine as the starting placekicker for the football team.
“I mostly played soccer and rugby, but I got the kicking job in high school pretty much the same way,” Snyderwine said. “The kicker got hurt and the football coach asked me to kick a few field goals…. After that, they told me I’d be the kicker for the rest of the season.”
Four years later, the former soccer and rugby player now holds the starting placekicker position at an FBS school. This season, Snyderwine has not missed an extra point, connecting on all six attempts. The kicker is also currently third on the team in scoring with nine points.
And despite not even knowing about the tryout and being dragged to it by friends, Snyderwine considers giving in to his friends’ pleas one of the best decisions he’s ever made.
“It has been amazing. I enjoy every minute of it,” Snyderwine said. “I’m really happy about how things turned out, and I love being a part of the team. It really gives me a sense of purpose—we work really hard and I just enjoy everything about it.”
Yet being a kicker comes with its challenges from teammates. Since the placekicker is not as physically involved in the game as other players, teammates sometimes give kickers a hard time for their relatively less active role on the team. Snyderwine, though, has not experienced any real headaches from the rest of the Blue Devils.
“It really is not too bad—at this point [teammates’ comments] are nothing you haven’t heard,” Snyderwine said. “Once in a while you hear things like, ‘Oh you’re just the kicker,’ and you just respond, ‘I get it, I know.’”
Despite the occasional heckle, Snyderwine handles himself well on the practice field, special teams coordinator Ron Middleton said.
“He knows what’s expected of him,” Middleton said. “The best way to deal with kickers is not to deal with them. They have enough stuff in their head—they are weird anyway. Ninety-five percent of it is between the ears.”
So far, Snyderwine has shown he’s got a level head on his shoulders—and more importantly, a strong leg.
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