Name: Greg Tarr
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 215 lbs.
High school: Washington (MI) Romeo
Position: Long snapper
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #45
Last year: I ranked Tarr #58 and said he would be a backup long snapper (LINK). He played in two games.
TTB Rating: N/A
Two seasons ago, Tarr was a very valuable backup as he started nine games following William Wagner's ACL tear. Last season Tarr reverted to a more traditional role of backup: he played only in blowout wins, against Indiana and Michigan State. It's not too often that you have two proven starters at long snapper on one team, but that's the case for Michigan over the past couple years.
NOTE: In fact, Michigan has three starting long snappers, because Holy Cross starter Dan Rosenberg transferred in and joined the fall roster. But that news came out after I had already set the countdown, so Rosenberg won't get ranked this year.
Tarr should be in a backup role again in 2024. With this being Wagner's final year of eligibility, Tarr could be biding his time to start in 2025. He started his career in 2020 (which didn't count due to COVID) and then took a redshirt in 2021, so he has 2024 and 2025 left before he runs out of time.
Prediction: Backup long snapper
Always a cool part of the countdown to me, because I don't spend any time thinking about the long snappers otherwise.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I still don't know is how much of a difference it makes between guy #1 and guy #3 or 4. Is it like CB or QB where the abilities fall off dramatically between the scholarship guys and typical walk-ons or is it more like FB where it doesn't matter as much?
Regardless, it seems like Michigan is unusually loaded with options this year (3 guys who have starting experience) which makes none of the long snappers individually that valuable (compared to previous years).
I assume Rosenberg is another example of a guy who is happy to be part of the Michigan program even if it means not much of a role on Saturdays.