The senior you’ve never heard of

If special teams is the Island of Misfit Toys on a football team, then the long snapper is probably Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Marcus Perry, four-year starter for Oregon State University at the long snapper position, is about as unheralded as you can get.

So who exactly is Perry?

"He's just a great, great guy," said head coach Mike Riley. "He's been a great worker in this program, a leader by example, a great kid."

Out of Eastlake High School in Eastlake, Calif., Perry has played in every game of his Oregon State career. Perry is an exercise and sport science major, with a focus on fitness and nutrition, and is on track to graduate from OSU this spring.

This Saturday's game will be the last time Perry and the rest of the seniors step onto the field of Reser Stadium.

"I'm going to be amped up," Perry said. "It's going to be crazy. It's going to be super emotional to be the last game, and the four years went by so fast. To think that it's coming to end, it's going to be crazy. But it's going to be great."

Perry's position of long snapper is one that casual and even obsessive football fans never talk about.

"He is probably unheralded because you never hear his name," Riley said. "And you only hear snappers' names when it's a bad snap."

The long snapper is a position that is so often overlooked, that just as Riley said, you only hear their name when they make a mistake. For as much exposure as the football team gets, a guy like Perry has to be the man behind the curtain. Only people surrounding the team know who he is, and the nature of his position.

"I think it's kind of rough," Perry said. "I definitely had to adjust when I first came in. I had to adjust to the fact that nobody really knows who I am, or what necessarily I do. I always have to explain my position to people, but it's still something that I take great pride in."

His services are not underestimated or undervalued by the team though. The more routine Perry makes his position look, the better he's doing. The sad reality with his spot is that being less recognized by the outside world means he is playing his position better than if people knew who he was.

"It's fun to watch these guys because if you're a guy like Marcus, you take special, special pride in your craft," Riley said. "So he has almost been like perfection. He's had some snaps that haven't been perfect for sure, but through the course of his bulk of work, it's been pretty phenomenal."

Perry is just the type of student athlete who takes pride in not only his football career, but in his studies. The last two years, Perry has made the Pac-10 All-Academic Second Team.

"I don't think I've ever — in all the time he's been here — he's never been on any lists, and that's one of the things you want to stay off: the list that missed study hall, the list that missed weights, the list that missed class," Riley said. "Marcus has never been on anything. He's just a very detailed, hard-working guy, and where it shows up is in the consistency of his work."

The four years Perry has spent as an Oregon State football player are about to conclude. His time in the spotlight is limited, but his time in the eyes of Riley, the coaches and players was always there.

Four years as the long snapper, Perry has been a reliable member of this team. So reliable in fact, it could be easy to take what he has done as a Beaver for granted.

"I forget about him in that senior group," Riley said. "That's tough to replace right there."

Warner Strausbaugh, sports writer

sports@dailybarometer.com