Tyler Ott (born February 28, 1992) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point att ...

for the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Jenks High School Jenks High School is a secondary school located within Tulsa County in Jenks, Oklahoma, United States. It serves students from the town of Jenks and students from the south side of the city of Tulsa. The high school has over 2,800 students in grad ...

Jenks, Oklahoma Jenks is a city in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States, and a suburb of Tulsa, in the northeastern part of the state. It is situated between the Arkansas River and U.S. Route 75. Jenks is one of the fastest-growing cities in Oklahoma. The city' ...

, and college football at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

. He was originally signed by the New England Patriots as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2014.

Early years

Tyler Ott was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on February 28, 1992, to Dan and Laurie (now Applekamp) Ott. He attended grade school in the Jenks Public School system, and would go on to attend

. While attending

, Ott was a three-year letter winner in football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

. During his high school career, he was a three-year captain in football, and a senior captain in basketball and track and field. He threw shot put and discus in track and field, and ended his career with personal records of 50 feet 2 inches in shot put and 148 feet 9 inches in discus. He would play in three football state championships, winning one in 2007 defeating Tulsa Union High School 42-24. He played tight end and long snapper for Jenks High School, and finished his high school football career with 47 catches, 771 total receiving yards, and 7 receiving touchdowns.

College career

Ott played college football at

, was the team's

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

and

all four years. Though he spent his first year at Harvard as a blocking tight end, he would emerge as the team's primary long snapper his sophomore year, and made his first catch as a tight end against Columbia in his junior season. In his senior season, he became one of the two starting tight ends in Harvard's two tight end offense. Following his senior season, Tyler was invited to play in the

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

after finishing the year with 15 receptions, 188 yards and four touchdowns. On October 28, 2013, he was named National Tight End of the Week by College performance awards, after catching three touchdowns in Harvard's triple overtime loss to

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

. His three touchdowns against Princeton tied Harvard's record for single game touchdown receptions. He graduated from Harvard in 2014 with a Bachelors of Arts degree in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

and a minor in Environmental Science &

Public Policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...

. While at Harvard, he lived in

Dunster House Dunster House is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses at Harvard University. Built in 1930, it is one of the first two dormitories at Harvard University constructed under President Abbott Lawrence Lowell's House Plan and one of the sev ...

with house masters Roger B. Porter and Ann Porter.

Professional career

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots signed Ott as an undrafted free agent on May 16, 2014. He was released by the Patriots on August 17, 2014. The Patriots re-signed Ott on March 4, 2015. Ott was released by the team on May 5, 2015.

St. Louis Rams

On May 12, 2015, Ott signed with the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

after a minicamp tryout. He was released on September 1, 2015.

New York Giants

On December 31, 2015, the New York Giants signed Ott to the active roster, after long snappers Zak DeOssie and

Danny Aiken Daniel Lee Aiken (born August 28, 1988) is a former American football long snapper. He was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football at Virginia after a prep year at Fork Union Military Academy. E ...

suffered season-ending injuries. Ott became the first

Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than ...

football player to play for the Giants. On August 30, 2016, he was waived by the Giants. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 19, 2016. He was released by the Giants on October 25, 2016.

Cincinnati Bengals

On November 22, 2016, Ott was signed to the practice squad of the Cincinnati Bengals. He was promoted to the active roster on November 26, 2016. He was released on December 20, 2016.

Seattle Seahawks

On January 3, 2017, Ott signed with the Seattle Seahawks to take the place of the injured Nolan Frese. On August 1, 2019, Ott signed a new four-year contract with the Seahawks. On December 21, 2020, Ott was named as the starting long snapper for the NFC in the 2021

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

. On September 14, 2022, Ott was placed on injured reserve.

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens' 2022 long snapper, Nick Moore, tore his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus ( ...

during the 2023 offseason and was expected to miss the entire 2023 season. Shortly thereafter, on July 25, 2023, Ott signed with the

to be their long snapper for the 2023 season.

References

External links

Harvard Crimson bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ott, Tyler 1992 births Living people American football long snappers Harvard Crimson football players New England Patriots players St. Louis Rams players New York Giants players Cincinnati Bengals players Seattle Seahawks players Players of American football from Tulsa, Oklahoma National Conference Pro Bowl players Baltimore Ravens players