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Former Memphis guard Curtis Givens III commits to Ohio State.
Realistically, John Ferlmann knows he isn’t going to get drafted this weekend. But the former Ohio State long snapper is still confident in his ability to play in the NFL.
It’s rare for a long snapper to get drafted. One long snapper was drafted last year (Vanderbilt’s Julian Ashby, in the seventh round by the New England Patriots), but none were selected in the previous three drafts. Ferlmann’s chances of being one of those rarities took a hit when he was unable to snap at Ohio State’s pro day due to a hamstring injury.
But being drafted is far from a prerequisite to making an NFL roster for a long snapper. The two former Ohio State long snappers currently in the NFL, Liam McCullough and Jake McQuaide, both went undrafted. And Ferlmann has gotten plenty of looks from the NFL during the pre-draft process.
Ferlmann was selected to snap in the American Bowl in January and at the NFL Specialist Showcase at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. As an Arizona native who played at Ohio State, he also had the opportunity to participate in local pro days for the Arizona Cardinals and Cincinnati Bengals. So Ferlmann is optimistic he’ll get the chance to compete for a roster spot in at least one rookie minicamp; he could potentially participate in two rookie minicamps, as some NFL teams will hold their camps next weekend while others will hold theirs the following weekend.
“Not having worked out at pro day, it's definitely set me back, and it's annoying, but it is what it is. I knew as a long snapper, I'm really not going to get drafted; it's going to be rare. So I'm not even focused, worried about that,” Ferlmann told Eleven Warriors this week. “I just really want that opportunity to go into minicamp and just to perform and just show that team that I can do this, and just to let people know that I should be in the running for a position in the NFL.
“So it's fun for me. I'm kind of coming from a deficit right now. I feel like an underdog a little bit. So every opportunity that I get is truly a blessing. I'm very thankful for it.”
.@FerlmannJohn Locked in to the process
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) February 25, 2026
: NFL Combine 2/26 - 2/28 on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/ExnjrBxhCD
Ferlmann has enjoyed going through the pre-draft process, as it’s reminded him of being a high school recruit. While his role rarely came with fanfare during his Ohio State career, participating in pre-draft showcases has given him the opportunity to compete head-to-head with other long snappers again, which has scratched his competitive itch.
“In high school, you go to all these camps to get scouted, and go to these college camps to get in front of coaches; it's kind of similar to that, but obviously the competition's much better, and you're around guys that are just as elite as you are,” Ferlmann said. “So it's really cool. I really like the competitive side of it. Because in college, you go out there and you do your job, you win, the Buckeyes go home, and you rinse, repeat every week, right? You don't really have a lot of competition in terms of you vs. another long snapper from, you know, Iowa, right? So it's just kind of fun, because it's like, instead of a team setting, I'm in a one-on-one setting, so it's just me vs. him. So I really enjoy that part about it.”
Ferlmann has also enjoyed having the chance to talk to NFL team representatives throughout the process. He says those conversations have focused mostly on who he is as a person, since there aren’t as many X’s and O’s for long snappers to discuss as there are at other positions. But the biggest thing Ferlmann has sought to convey to NFL teams is how competitive he is.
“The biggest thing I want NFL teams to know is just that I'm a competitor,” Ferlmann said. “My position gets overlooked in terms of that, and I want to do the best that I possibly can. And I want to be put in those situations. I want to perform in the Super Bowl. I want to do all these things that are high-stress, high-nerve, high-pressure, because I really enjoy that part of the game.”
Ferlmann had plenty of those situations across his three years at Ohio State, most notably serving as the long snapper for the Buckeyes’ 2024 national championship run. Ferlmann transferred from Arizona State to Ohio State because he wanted to compete for national championships, and he believes the experiences he had across three seasons as a Buckeye prepared him well for the NFL.
“It's pretty much laid the groundwork for me to walk on,” Ferlmann said. “I could be performing at the same level at any other school, but being an Ohio State player, I've got experience in big-time games and I’ve got experience in the national championship, I played in The Game three times.
“I've dealt with weather; that's another big thing is being a Big Ten player, you have to deal with the weather. So that's another advantage that I have over other elite guys from different conferences. But also the connections that (NFL teams) have with coaches and players from Ohio State. They know that a player coming from Ohio State has the background knowledge of coaching and what the expectation is in the NFL compared to other teams.”
Ferlmann says the biggest thing he’ll take from his time at Ohio State, though, is the relationships he built over the last three years with his teammates, coaches and other members of the Ohio State community.
“I've been spending the last month here in Columbus, just hanging out with the guys, working out with the training staff, and it's just been cool to kind of experience that from the other side of things,” Ferlmann said. “You don't know how it's going to be, especially as a specialist, how that’s going to look, but coming back, they've been welcome arms to me and I really appreciate that. And just the relationships I've made with coaches, players, my teammates, and just people in Columbus, like students, other locals; like for example, the long snapper on the club football team, him and I used to work out a lot when I played here, so he's a good friend of mine now. So I always like to contact him. And just stuff like that. I really enjoy the relationships.
“And then in terms of experiences, I would say being able to handle the pressure and being able to keep up the standard is one thing that I'm going to take for the rest of my life. Like having healthy mechanisms that I can use to prepare me for something that's nerve-wracking or something I don't want to do, is just kind of something that I think will help me for the rest of my life.”
“I could be performing at the same level at any other school, but being an Ohio State player, I've got experience in big-time games and I’ve got experience in the national championship, I played in The Game three times.”– John Ferlmann on how Ohio State prepared him for the NFL
Knowing that he likely won’t be one of the 257 players drafted, Ferlmann doesn’t plan on watching much of the draft this weekend. But he’ll be ready for the opportunity to go compete for a job if he gets the call from the league.
“Honestly, I think I'm just gonna hit some golf balls, come back and just stay with the family and just kind of see what happens,” Ferlmann said. “But I'm not gonna stare at the numbers too much. I'm just kind of gonna wait for the call to see about minicamp coming after the draft.”
The 2026 NFL draft begins at 8 p.m. Thursday with Round 1, then continues with Rounds 2-3 at 7 p.m. Friday and Rounds 4-7 at noon Saturday. All seven rounds of the draft will be televised by ABC, ESPN and NFL Network, and Eleven Warriors will have coverage of every Ohio State draft selection and undrafted free agent signing as it happens.
