Horsing around helped turn into something serious for Lincoln-Way East’s Trey Serauskis.
His father, Marty, a former running back at Lincoln-Way and Dubuque, and Trey were in the backyard in the spring of 2023. Trey, a freshman, had played tight end in the fall of 2022.
“We were messing around and playing catch,” Trey said, thinking back on the moment. “I just got down and snapped the ball, got it to him on the fly, and that’s when it got started.”
What got started was Serauskis’ career as a long snapper.
In his sophomore season, Serauskis said the team was looking for a long snapper and he added that to his duties as a tight end. The past two years, he has been the varsity’s long snapper.
He’s done it so well that he verbally accepted a scholarship offer from Toledo.
But if he didn’t mess around that one day in the yard with his dad …
“I don’t know where I would be,” Trey said.
Where is Serauskis now? He’s playing an important, low-profile position on a high profile team.
The Griffins (2-0, 0-0) continue to be a state powerhouse and have outscored their first two opponents — Maine South and Kankakee — by a combined score of 81-0. They host Neuqua Valley (1-1, 0-0) at 7 p.m. Friday in a Southwest Valley Blue opener in Frankfort.
Although Serauskis has only been a long snapper for a few years, he takes it seriously. Matt Orban, a wide receiver who is his holder for extra points and field goals, can attest to that.
“There is no one who outworks him,” Orban said. “He’s out here relentlessly and he never stops.
“We’re trying to be perfect with our timing every single snap, every single kick and every single hold. He demands perfection and we get it.”
The two have grown up together playing football, but in their younger days, they had no idea they would be the snapper and holder for talented kicker Grant Urban.
How many snaps since that day in the backyard?
“It has to be in the thousands,” Serauskis said. “I’m working every single day, whether it’s drills or anything. I’m doing something to try to be perfect.”
A long snapper usually goes unnoticed when he makes a good snap, but when a bad snap hits the turf or goes over the head of the kicker or the punter, the spotlight shines brightly.
Serauskis, however, said he doesn’t feel any pressure.
“I don’t think of bad snaps,” he said.
For Serauskis, getting to this level has been all about the process.
“Snapping is having really good form and being explosive,” he said. “Once you get the form down, as you progress and get bigger and stronger, your ball speed is going to tremendously improve.
“Everything else will fall into place. You just have to keep repping it out.”
He also has two different mindsets for snapping to a holder on kicks or a direct snap to a punter.
“For punt snaps, you are looking at .07 seconds or quicker,” Serauskis said. “For field goals, you are looking for more of a smoother snap. With your timing, you want to be under 1.2 seconds from when the ball leaves the snapper’s hands to when the ball is kicked.”
Serauskis has been learning from Chris Rubio, a nationally known instructor for long snappers who hosts camps in Rosemont. Serauskis also went to a few college camps, including Toledo, and received an offer right away.
He also learns from watching NFL games. When the Chicago Bears play, he’s not watching quarterback Caleb Williams as intently as long snapper Scott Daly.
“He’s an all-around good dude, and I love tuning in to the Bears game and watching him and learning from him by what he does,” Serauskis said of Daly. “I’m more invested in the punts and field goals than the actual game.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
