Class Of His Own: Even at an elite engineering school like Georgia Tech, he’s doing something with no known precedent. Meet redshirt junior Henry Freer, just your average starting FBS long snapper … who’s also pursuing his Ph.D.
Inside The Chart | By Andy Demetra (The Voice of the Yellow Jackets)
Perhaps it comes with the territory, but playing long snapper involves a fair amount of humility and anonymity. Jog in, put your head down, rip a spiral back to the punter or holder, don’t cause any issues, jog off, and wait to do it again. There’s pressure in the position but rarely glory. Do your job perfectly and hardly anyone notices.
So perhaps it didn’t dawn on Henry Freer at first that he, the long snapper used to keeping a low profile, is doing something thought to be unprecedented in the history of Georgia Tech football – and in the hallowed history of Georgia Tech academics.
“It’s definitely an honor. It’s exactly what we do here at Tech. We do things people haven’t done before,” he said.
A native of College Park, Ga., the 6-foot, 205-pound Freer is currently in his second year as Georgia Tech’s starting snapper on punts and field goals. He’s also in his first year as a Ph.D. student in Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, having earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical and biomolecular engineering in May. He’s believed to be the first football student-athlete ever enrolled in a Ph.D. program at Tech while still an active player.
Forget NIL. Freer has three other letters he’s preoccupied with. And that pursuit has drawn no shortage of awe from his coaches.
“His level of intelligence is off the charts,” said head coach Brent Key.
“I never yell at him because he might be my boss one day,” added special teams coach Ricky Brumfield.
That line that’s come in vogue lately, where athletes refer to the practice field as “the lab”? Freer has an actual lab to go to. Like, right after this…
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