David Snow has always wanted to be an NFL player. But come draft day on April 26, he won’t be sitting around eagerly watching the television. Instead, he will be out fishing with his friends.
“I’m going to be really excited,” Snow said. “But I’m not going to be sitting around.”
Once he was offered a scholarship to UT, the center from Gilmer knew that his dreams to play professionally could happen. Snow graduated in December and has been training and preparing for the draft ever since. Leaving UT was difficult for Snow, but he is ready to begin the next part of his career.
“I really like starting new stages of life and I am really excited about the opportunity of the next level and getting to play some more football,” Snow said. “You’re kind of sad, but at the same time you’re also really happy. It’s a weird combination of the two.”
Snow has no preference to what team he goes to, as long as he can continue playing football.
Snow appeared in all 52 games during his four-year career at Texas. Snow prides himself on versatility — he can play center, left guard and right guard. He said he will play wherever he is needed in the NFL. Scouts have told him they like his versatility.
“Being able to play multiple positions does ultimately help you a whole bunch in the NFL,” Snow said. “You never know when someone’s going to go down and you’ll need to move over and play a different position.”
In his senior year, he started all 13 games at left guard, but in his junior year, he spent most of the season at center. He plans to be ready to step up whenever his potential team needs him. The Longhorns’ practices are set up very similar to NFL practices, so he feels confident that he is ready to play professionally.
“Center is a unique position, of course, and you can’t get everyone to play that position,” said Texas head coach Mack Brown.
Texas coaches have helped him progress, and the advice and help of Longhorn alumni will also help him. Snow knows he won’t have any problems, but former players like Derrick Johnson and Jamaal Charles have told him to be responsible once he enters the NFL, especially early in his career.
“A lot of people when they go to the NFL and they get paid a bunch of money off the top, they want to go spend it,” Snow said. “That can cause you a lot of problems. They told me to get in there and work your tail off.”
Although Snow was not invited to the NFL Combine, he feels he performed well enough at Texas’ pro day to convince coaches and scouts that he is ready to play at the next level. But he knows that it’s a combination of four years that teams look at when determining who they will call on April 26. Last year 59 players who were not invited to the combine made it on a pro team.
“I put up a lot of solid numbers during my four years at Texas and that helps a lot, so now we just wait,” Snow said.
He has filled out questionnaires for all 32 teams and has worked out for coaches from Denver. But if he is not drafted, he will go as a free agent and try out. He hopes he will earn a spot on a team.
“Everything in life that I do, I always want to be the best at it,” Snow said. “When I started playing football, I always wanted to be the best at it. I’ve always felt like I could always outwork everyone. That was just my mentality about it.”
Snow graduated from Texas with a degree in corporate communication and could see a future for himself in commercial real estate. But he will always have his time at UT to look back on.
“I had a great time at UT,” Snow said. “The greatest thing is that a lot of the guys helped me do my spiritual walk and we get to play football together. The combination of the two gave me a great experience.”
No matter what the future holds for Snow, he is going to keep pushing and working.
“My work ethic is really great,” Snow said. “So I am just going to keep on working no matter what.”
