PISCATAWAY, N.J. – You only get so many chances in a lifetime to do something special. Long snapper Michael O'Connor has more than taken advantage of those opportunities.

For O'Connor, there was never a plan to become a long snapper. There was not a lifetime of training to be a Division I football player. There were simply two chance moments – one in high school and one in college – that changed the course of his career.

Growing up in Middletown, New Jersey, O'Connor decided he wanted to play football before his freshman year at Middletown South. Originally a tight end and defensive end, he had lifted with friends and eventually with the freshman team during the summer of 2017. As the season approached, the Eagles still did not have a kicker. As players rotated through the role, it was O'Connor who stood out and earned the job. From there, it sparked a passion he would turn into a Division I dream.

"All freshman season, I kind of fell in love with kicking," he said. "And I worked on it every day. Before and after practice, starting practice and even days that we had off."

His work quickly paid off. By Thanksgiving of that fall, O'Connor was called up to the varsity team.

"That kind of just gave me a motivation to keep going with it, and I saw that I could have a future in it," he said of his call up.

After two years at Middletown South, O'Connor transferred to Shore Conference power Red Bank Catholic. In his two seasons as the Caseys' starting kicker, O'Connor made every field goal and extra point attempt and touchbacks were a near-guarantee on kickoffs.

Though he held several FCS scholarship offers, O'Connor knew he wanted to compete at the highest level and was given that opportunity by head coach Greg Schiano as a preferred walk-on.

Early in his career as a Scarlet Knight, O'Connor bounced between roles as a reserve placekicker and punter. Playing time was not easy to come across as a punter, with Ray Guy Award winner Adam Korsak handling those duties from 2018-22.

During a nighttime walkthrough in 2022, O'Connor decided to try out snapping for fun off to the side. Little did he know, it caught the eye of Joe Susan, special assistant to the head coach. The next day, the team's special teams coaches had O'Connor working on his snaps after practice. It was just another role O'Connor took up for the good of the team.

"I actually got put at scout wide receiver as well," he said. "So, I was a scout team wide receiver and a long snapper who had no idea how to snap."

Once again, O'Connor leaned on the obsessive work ethic that made him a sought-after kicking prospect in high school. By the following fall, he earned a starting role, beginning with the second game of the season against Temple.

"It was kind of just feeling everything out and seeing what worked and what didn't," he said. "I snapped with gloves at one point. It was just trying things, figuring out what works and what didn't."

After spending the first half of the season focused on punt snapping, O'Connor eventually handled all long-snapping duties for the remainder of the year. Though he did not see game action in 2024, O'Connor returned as the primary long snapper for all kicks and punts this season.

After earning his undergraduate degree in business management, O'Connor is working towards his master's in supply chain management – making the most of his opportunities on and off the field.

"The resources that football and Rutgers have given us academically to succeed have really been helpful," he said. "Not just for my development, but everybody on the team. We get so many resources."

With one chapter in O'Connor's story ending and another soon to begin, the future is unknown. But that is not daunting for O'Connor, who has always made the most of his opportunities.

Through the twists and turns of his journey, O'Connor has remained grounded in his faith, believing his path unfolded exactly as it was meant to.

"I don't think it's any coincidence," O'Connor said of his career. "I'm big in my faith and I believe that God has put me in these situations and that is exactly what was supposed to happen to me. And that's how my whole journey has been."



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