By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports
As the deep snapper for Louisiana Tech, Ean Burch sees things upside down. It may not be the greatest view on the football field, but it’s what puts him out there for a job that he says “no one ever notices until you screw up.”
So it’s only natural that Burch’s journey to being in this role for the Bulldogs might also be a little bit out of the ordinary.
When he was an eighth-grader, Burch probably wasn’t all that thrilled when he was informed by his parents a few years ago that he would be going to his younger sister’s soccer game on a weekend afternoon.
Desperate to do something – anything – to avoid having to watch, he grabbed a football and threw it between his legs.
“You know you can go to college doing that, right?” his father Eric told him.
“I had no idea,” Ean says now.
Though he was far more interested in playing linebacker at Loyola, he also kept practicing that skill in high school, which led to a walk-on spot at Tech.
“I never could have imagined this,” Burch says.
Even though he was an All-City linebacker for the Flyers in 2020 and twice had more than 100 tackles in a season, he knew his ticket to college football would be punched by doing something that few ever notice. But he will admit that there may have been a time or two that he missed being a linebacker.
“You know, it’s always been a dream to do something like that,” he says. “But I’m too slow and fat now. It would be fun, but I’m happy with my role. I’m happy what I’m doing, and this is a pretty important role.”
When the Bulldogs take on Coastal Carolina Tuesday in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, Burch will be the deep snapper for both punts and field goals.
Those do not require the same skill set.
“There’s a lot of nuances and technique that go into both, for sure,” Burch says. “The field goal is definitely more difficult because of the level of precision you have to have in it. Plus, you try to get the laces (facing) forward, which is another added layer on top of that.”
Yes, you read that correctly – Burch tries to snap the ball to the holder with such technique that the laces are already set in the proper position when the ball arrives in the holder’s hands.
“First, you have the manipulate the ball to get it like you want it (before the snap),” Burch says. “If I have the right spot and I snap at the same speed, and you’ll get it back there with laces (in the proper spot) a good majority of the time.”
Burch is one of only four Bulldogs who have been on the Tech roster under head coaches Skip Holtz and Sonny Cumbie. The 5-11, 205-pounder did not play in 2021, played in one game in 2022, missed a season due to a hand injury and didn’t play in 2023.
He admits it was tough during his first few years. “I always just wanted to play and, but some people it takes a little bit longer to get there,” Burch says. “I had to sit behind some good guys and that was just my path. I’m happy I stayed with it.”
Asked to describe his five years at Tech and Burch sums it up in one word: “Awesome.”
He’s hoping for even more awesomeness next year, because Burch recently received an NCAA waiver for a sixth year of eligibility because of his injury. Even though he graduated from Tech in the fall with a finance degree, he will be around for another year of being one of the most important players on the team that nobody notices.
“I think there’s a stat that if a team gets a punt blocked or a field goal blocked, there’s like a 90 percent chance you’ll lose that game,” Burch says. “And so, you always got to be on top of your game and perfect every time. I think that’s one thing people don’t really understand about long snapping.”
One of the many things you can discover by not paying attention at your younger sister’s soccer game.
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com