Justin Mader on long snapping, his career, the program, and more

Long snappers typically operate in anonymity unless something goes awry. For Justin Mader, this may be his first introduction for a lot of Texas fans.

Mader, who elected to forego his extra year of eligibility afforded by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursue NFL opportunities, was consistently successful as a four-year starter at long snapper.

Ahead of the Longhorns’ pro day on Thursday, Inside Texas caught up with the 6-foot-2, 236-pound special teams stalwart for his thoughts on his Texas career, his pro future, and the state of the program.

[Subscribe to Inside Texas today and get a FREE 7-day Plus trial!]

Inside Texas: Going back to the beginning, how did you end up signing with Texas?

Justin Mader: “I started long snapping when I was in about 7th or 8th grade, and I started taking it more seriously my freshman and sophomore year. I went to a national camp and I did well there, and I was able to see how I stacked up with everybody. I went to these college camps. I sent a bunch of e-mails all through high school and Twitter DMs to different coaches, and I actually knew coach (Craig) Naivar and coach (Jason Washington) from Houston. Then when they went to Texas, I hit them up again. I worked out for them over the summer, and I actually met with coach (Tom) Herman a couple of times. He talked to me and my parents about what a walk-on would look like at Texas, the path to playing time and path to a scholarship, things like that. I had academy scholarship offers, I probably had eight or ten different pretty big schools wanting me to walk on there, but Texas was just kind of a no brainer in terms of situation. It’s close to home, and I growing up in Texas, UT is football. That’s kind of the story of how that went.”

IT: You were immediately thrown into the starting lineup at Maryland. What was that first game like?

JM: “That was awesome. That was really cool. Putting on the helmet and uniform for the first time, I’ll never forget that. I think the funny part about it to me is we’re up in Maryland, and it wasn’t a huge crowd, it was pretty good. But I think we scored a touchdown, that first touchdown to Devin Duvernay, and we go out there and I snap the extra point. We’re running off, and I was like ‘man, not much has changed since high school I’m still snapping it to the holder and it’s still the same.’ That was good. I didn’t feel like the moment was too big, but it was also a culmination of a lot of hard work. That was fun, that game was really fun.”

IT: After Cameron Dicker’s game-winning kick versus Oklahoma in 2018, Herman made sure to mention that not only did a true freshman make the kick, but a true freshmen snapped it to a true freshman holder. Can you describe what you were feeling ahead of that play?

JM: “It’s got to be my favorite moment at Texas. I mean, that was another awesome game. We’re kicking their butt, too, in the fourth quarter and Kyler (Murray) scored three straight touchdowns. So I felt pretty comfortable. We had scored a lot of points. I probably snapped eight or ten field goals at that point, field goal snaps. I was warming up with Chris Naggar on the sideline, and we’re just kind of trying to talk like it’s normal. It’s kind of weird where you try to calm yourself down just by having normal (conversations), nothing different, this is what we do. But in the back of your mind you know it’s a big moment, going out there to win. Man, it was awesome. We got out there, I felt comfortable with Ryan (Bujcevski) holding and Cam back there. Patrick Vahe and Geezy (Gerald Wilbon) next to me at guard, so I felt good about that. My mind was clear, just be able to snap it good. Then, I honestly didn’t realize how much tension I had built up until I saw the kick go through. It was just all this weight off my shoulders immediately that I didn’t know I had. That one was awesome.”

IT: This may be the first time a lot of people read your name, which as a long snapper is honestly a positive. What would you credit your consistency to?

JM: “That’s just discipline. You don’t really do it for the praise on Twitter or on the internet or whatever. That’s cool and I love it. Whenever Cam gets awards and stuff, it’s kind of fulfilling for me because I got to have a part in that. It’s just about being disciplined. I love doing what I do, and just being able to get better every day and have something to work towards. It’s weird, because it’s such a monotonous thing but it doesn’t feel monotonous to me because I’m always chasing the ‘perfection,’ trying to be as good as I can.”

IT: You had two tackles in your career, one versus WVU and one versus Utah, both in 2019. Have a favorite?

JM: “It’s got to be the Utah one because the West Virginia one, I kind of got run over a little bit. Still got him on the ground. The Utah one was awesome. I was outside contain on that play, I shed a blocker and made a tackle. The Utah one was awesome.”

IT: COVID-19 created an opportunity for you to return for one more year. What made you decide now was the right time for you to try professional football?

JM: “It just felt like the right time to move on. As you mentioned, I didn’t redshirt so I played all four years. We were lucky enough to be in the Big 12 where we played mostly a full season my junior year. With Ryan and Cameron leaving, and I’m graduating in May, in my mind for the last four years, I’ve known this would be the last season. It just felt like the right time to move on from Texas.”

Mader’s degree is in mechanical engineering.

IT: Three years under coach Herman, and you played this last year under coach Sark. What are your thoughts on the state of the program under coach Sark’s leadership?

JM: “Things are headed in the right direction. It’s hard. There’s so much that goes into every Saturday. There’s 12 Saturdays, right? But every other day of the year there’s lots of things happening in the program that people on the outside don’t see. There’s a lot that goes into winning those games, right? I definitely think it’s heading in the right direction. Coach (Jeff) Banks was super great this year, special teams-wise. I know we’ve got a lot of recruits coming in. I’m definitely optimistic about the future of Texas football.”

IT: How would you describe Banks’ coaching style?

JM: “Coach Banks is super intense. Every morning, he’s bringing the energy. He has a Monster or a Red Bull in his hand every morning. He’s super intense, super focused. It’s good. On special teams, he’s coaching the whole team basically, all 100 guys he’s got in the meeting room. He’s trying to wrangle cats, so he’s the perfect guy for it. He’s able to get everybody to a point where we appreciate how important each play on special teams is and where you can affect the game from kickoff, kick return, punt, punt return, etc. Just to sum it up, super intense, super focused, really detail oriented.”

IT: Who are you snapping the torch to?

JM: “Zach Edwards is really good, he’s still there at Texas. I know they have another recruit coming in, Lance St. Louis. I’ve met him a couple of times through camps and stuff. I don’t know too much about Lance, but I know Zach is super solid. Zach’s a great guy, and I’m excited for both of them to get their opportunity.”

IT: What are your goals for Thursday’s pro day?

JM: “I just want to be myself. I want to run well, jump well, and snap good balls. I try not to make it bigger than it is. It’s the same thing I’ve been doing for years and it’s just snapping it 14 or 15 yards to Cameron. I’m excited for it. I’m excited to show what I can do from a snapping and blocking standpoint, athleticism. I’m ready.”