Cole became gem
MOST OF THE NAMES of Idaho’s all-time leading tacklers are familiar in Vandals circles – Sam Merriman, Tom Hennessey, Duke Garrett, Chris Nofoaiga, Brad Rice, Jerry Medved, Jordan Kramer, Jeff Robinson, Ryan Phillips.
A transfer from a I-AA school, a former walk-on, a player who used to lack confidence and was deemed too short and too slow is about to join that list. Senior middle linebacker Cole Snyder is on course to crack Idaho’s top 15, not that he’s been reading the records section in the media guide.
“No idea,” Snyder responded when asked if he knew how close he was to making the top 15.
Snyder is at 241 career stops, just 23 from No. 15 Roger Cecil. At Snyder’s current rate of 12.3 tackles per game, he would make the chart against New Mexico State on Oct. 29. If Snyder maintains his current pace, he’d finish in the top 10.
“He’s making every play in the book,” said Vandals head coach Nick Holt, a former collegiate linebacker who has spent nine years of his coaching career tutoring linebackers. “He’s a very productive player, very instinctive – just a good old fashioned football player.”
Snyder tries to watch 30 minutes of videotape every day to learn the tendencies of an upcoming opponent. That helps position Snyder to make tackles. From there, it’s toughness and technique to bring down the ball carrier.
“For me, I’m not really a tall guy,” the 5-foot-10 Snyder said. “I watch their torso, like they teach you in basketball, because it doesn’t move.”
Added linebackers coach Johnny Nansen: “Tackling is just a natural thing for him. He’s a tough kid, which makes it a lot easier, and he’s usually in good position with a low center of gravity.”
Snyder racked up 136 tackles, tied for fifth for a single season, in 2004. He’s at 74 through six games this season. While many of Idaho’s top 15 career tacklers put up their numbers over four seasons, Snyder’s will be accumulated in three years.
Earlier this season, Holt described Snyder as a prototypical Idaho player, and not just because Snyder grew up in Kamiah, about a 90-minute drive from Moscow. To Holt, an Idaho kid is often a lightly recruited, hard-nosed player who simply works his way into a scholarship and playing time.
Snyder’s gone beyond that, though his college career got off to a rocky start. Snyder didn’t receive any scholarship offers from four-year schools, but he was invited to walk on by Idaho, Montana and Eastern Washington. Snyder and Kamiah teammate Jake Young went to EWU, but it didn’t work out for Snyder.
“I thought it was going to be a good fit, and school-wise it was good, but football didn’t fit,” Snyder said. “I just got frustrated with myself, trying to think too much instead of just playing the game.”
Snyder redshirted as a freshman at EWU, then transferred to Idaho and sat out the 2002 season under NCAA transfer rules. He earned a scholarship as a sophomore in 2003 and starting seeing time on special teams and as a backup linebacker. His breakthrough came against Louisiana-Monroe when starter Chad Pool was sidelined by injury. Snyder made 11 tackles.
“That really helped my confidence,” Snyder said. “And when Coach Holt came in (in 2004), it really helped me become a better linebacker with the new scheme because the assignments are a little bit easier. He just said, ‘You’re a good player, go out and play the game.’ “
Snyder was first-team all-Sun Belt Conference last year, but that didn’t reserve his spot on the top of the depth chart. Junior Jaron Williams pushed Snyder throughout spring and fall drills.
“He’s still right on my tail,” Snyder said. “There’s not really a day off for me. I can’t just coast through a practice.”
Other than missing a couple of practices last fall, Snyder hasn’t missed a practice or a game for injury reasons since he took up the sport in sixth grade. After roughly 40 to 50 collisions every game, it can be a chore rolling out of bed on Sunday mornings. His love of hunting often takes a backseat to the necessity of recovery time.
“Once I get up and around, I kind of loosen up,” he said. “I try to stretch every Sunday.”
Snyder is second in the WAC in tackles per game behind New Mexico State’s Jimmy Cottrell. Snyder ranks ninth nationally, Cottrell seventh.
The tackles are fine, but Snyder wants to make more game-changing plays, such as his interception against Washington State. The only problem was he went the wrong direction on the return and stumbled deep in Cougars territory.
“I got on my phone afterward and six of the eight messages were saying, ‘Don’t trip, you’re running the wrong way,’ ” Snyder said. “I heard that from everybody.”
In a couple of weeks, some of those same voices might leave messages for a different reason, congratulating the newest member on Idaho’s all-time tackles list.