Saint Stephen's lineman Jake Westberry commits to Fresno State as long snapper

BRADENTON -- Jake Westberry has stretched his college recruitment about as long as one can. He spent the first days of May nearly 3,000 miles from home in Fresno, Calif., where his long courtship ended.

Westberry committed to Fresno State as a preferred walk-on on Wednesday after taking an official visit. It was the end of a protracted recruiting process made necessary by some of the changes Westberry made late in his career to become a more appealing prospect. Although he was a standout two-way lineman for Saint Stephen's, the Bulldogs are most interested in Westberry's ability as a long snapper, a skill he didn't pick up until his junior season.

"The guys they have now didn't really suit what they wanted to do," said Westberry, who attended the Saint Stephen's practice Wednesday wearing a Fresno State shirt. "They've been on a search, and they came across me."

As Westberry helped turn the Falcons into a Sunshine

State Athletic Conference (SSAC) power during his final three years in Bradenton, the lineman became an intriguing low-level prospect for both his skill as a pass-rusher and blocker. He was one of two seniors on the Falcons last season and as a guard he helped pave the way for Saint Stephen's prolific rushing offense on its way to the Sunshine State Athletic Conference title game.

As a defensive end, he produced 40 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, a blocked kick, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

The major knock on the 6-foot-3, 245-pound three-sport athlete was he excelled at a level where the linemen are small. He found most of his Division I interest in spots on the field he wasn't occupying for the Falcons.

After practices during the spring and summer before his senior year, Westberry ran routes as quarterback Fred Billy fired passes to him. One of his best paths to D-I as an undersized guard was to market himself as a tight end. The other was taking over as Saint Stephen's long snapper. When Fresno State begins its season Sept. 3 against Nebraska in Lincoln, Westberry will be the long snapper. He's the only one on Fresno's roster.

"They need someone to come in and start," Westberry said. "First start at Nebraska? It should be fun."

The first sense Westberry had that snapping could increase interest in him was when Atlantic Coast Conference schools Wake Forest and Duke reached out before his senior year. Although those never led to offers, Westberry eventually received partial scholarship offers from Football Championship subdivision programs Stetson and Jacksonville.

But Westberry held out and eventually was invited out to the West Coast to visit Fresno State, which has reached a bowl game in 14 of the last 17 seasons and has participated in two of the three Mountain West Conference championship games.

The Bulldogs overhauled some of its coaching staff this offseason -- including hiring a new special teams coach -- and three weeks ago, desperate for a long snapper, they reached out to Westberry, who said he'll receive a scholarship once one opens up.

Westberry's pledge to FSU gives Saint Stephen's a Football Championship Subdivision commit following each of the past two seasons. Guard Wyatt Knopfke, who spent one year with the Falcons after beginning his career at Cardinal Mooney, signed with Boston College last February and redshirted for the Eagles in the fall.

David Wilson, Herald sports writer, can be contacted at 941-745-7057 or on Twitter @DBWilson2.

This story was originally published May 4, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Saint Stephen's lineman Jake Westberry commits to Fresno State as long snapper ."