By: Colin Lacy

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

When you think about impacts on a football team, specialists aren’t usually at the top of the list.

One position that gets even less love and really goes un-noticed until something goes wrong is the long snapper.

However, the Southeast Bulloch long snapper is absolutely drawing attention not only from the Brooklet community, but from college recruiters in a positive light.

Talon Stokes is a couple of games into his senior year for SEB, but the path has been far different than what he envisioned when he began the journey as a Jacket.

Stokes began his high school career as a tight end and a pole vaulter for the track team, but the path to starting quicky changed. After being buried on the depth chart as a tight end it sparked a conversation with Southeast Bulloch Special Teams Coordinator Randy Lee.

“In ninth grade, Talon, a wiry 5’6”, 140-pound kid, walked into my office dreaming of making an impact on the football team. The varsity field seemed a distant goal for him, but I saw his fire,” said Lee. “Our long snapper was graduating, and I told Talon that role could be his if he worked for it. Never having snapped a ball before, the odds were steep, but Talon didn’t flinch.”

Stokes dove in headfirst. He began working with a snapping coach, going to camps and doing everything possible to learn the niche craft. Which paid off.

“By June, he wasn’t just filling a role; he was dominating it,” explained Coach Lee. “In my 17 years of coaching, Talon’s become the best long snapper I’ve ever seen.”

From what started as an idea to get on the field, it turned into a passion for Talon. Putting in countless hours and hundreds of snaps outside of SEB practice each week and working with one of the premier snapping instructors in the country in Rubio Long Snapping, Talon has turned SEB special teams into a coach’s dream of not having to worry about the snap.

“Unnoticed by the stands but invaluable to our staff, he grinds daily, perfecting his times and lace placement on PATs and field goals,” said Lee.

That dedication over the past four years has not only garnered attention from the coaching staff for SEB, but also college coaches across the country. This past summer, Talon and his mom, Shelley, went on a 10-day journey to specialist’s camps all over the country.

It began in Morgantown, WV to impress the Mountaineer coaches. Then they made the drive to Starkville, Mississippi where Talon ended up winning the Mississippi State camp for both punt snapping and Field Goal snapping in SEC country.

The excursion ended up in Jonesboro, Arkansas in the shadows of the water feature in the endzone at Arkansas State. Couple that success with visits also to Coastal Carolina, Wofford, and countless other schools, Talon is a known commodity in the college world.

Talon is the epitome of a “team guy.” Always upbeat and a smile on his face at practice but took a need of a team and turned it into a mission.

As a freshman going to Coach Lee and asking how he can get on the field, then dedicating himself to be the best long snapper he could be for SEB (which was a foreign concept at the time), now as a 4-star Rubio long snapper is an impressive journey over a relatively short period of time. It’s something that’s not lost in the Brooklet community.

“They say if you work hard, all things are possible—Talon’s living proof,” said Coach Lee. There aren’t many in the country who can touch him or out snap him. I’m glad he is a SEB Jacket, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

That future undoubtedly will be snapping at a high level in college football and it’s just a matter of where.