Frater Going for BCS Championship Title

NEW ORLEANS, La. - Frater Dimitrios Makridis (Omicron Chapter, The Ohio State University), is a fifth-year senior who plays football for Ohio State. He has a very interesting and often overlooked position - long snapper.

OK, in the (small) minds of some folks, being the starting - that's right, Frater Dimitrios is not the backup - long snapper is not the equivalent of being a football player. And Makridis hears it from his teammates every now and then.

"Yeah, especially if I happen to get hurt," he said, as the Buckeyes sat for interviews at the Superdome, two days before their confrontation with LSU in the BCS National Championship Game on Monday night. "They'll say, 'You're a specialist and you're hurt. Must be tough.' Then I have to think of something to come back at them with."

But what can Frater Makridis say? That he's forever cleaning the dirt out from under his fingernails after he spins the ball back to the punter. And only the punter. Why do you think they call it "special" teams? A different guy snaps the ball on field goals, though for a while, Makridis competed with two others for that job early in the season.

Makridis was a two-year starter at middle linebacker in high school and he played in a state-championship game but lost in 2002. His football credentials were solid and could have probably won a scholarship at another school, but his focus was solely on being a Buckeye. He threw away letters he received from Wisconsin and Wake Forest.

"I never checked out those schools," he said. "I wanted to come to Ohio State from the beginning."

So Frater Makridis walked on. He was not invited to accept a scholarship. He was not a prized recruit. He was, in fact, a non-recruit. It was, "Who are you and why are you wearing a football helmet?" But he made the team, even got a chance to show what he could do as a linebacker his freshman year.

"In my mind, I thought I could be a linebacker all the way," Makridis said. "But the next year, they told me, 'You're here to be the long snapper, and that's it.'"

Better to be the long snapper on punts than not to wear the scarlet and gray at all. He appeared in one game in 2005 and two in 2006 as the backup long snapper, which gave him the same status among Ohio State fans as the dry cleaner who launders the Brutus Buckeye costume.

But so what? Makridis grew up rooting for OSU but never set foot in the Horseshoe until he played. When he became the starting long snapper on punts this season, Makridis had made a dream, a reality.

Makridis will attempt to take his football career one step further and will "give the NFL a shot." If the NFL is not in his future, Frater Makridis is secure in knowing he will still have one. He is looking at earning an MBA or attending law school, following in the footsteps of his mother, who is an attorney.

Either way, like Chris Spielman and Eddie George, Joe Germaine and Archie Griffin, all of whom preceded him, Frater Makridis will have earned his varsity letter playing football at the highest collegiate level and vying for three national championships (earning one so far).

Even so, he will forever be asked, "What's so tough about being a long snapper?" The answer is obvious, given a moment's thought. The long snapper can lose a game.

"You have to be perfect every time," Makridis said.

Nobody is perfect, you say. Then again, how many long snappers do you know?

Thoughts on BCS Championship versus LSU January 7

Many sports writers say this contest will essentially be a home game for Louisiana State University whose fans only need to drive an hour to the Superdome in New Orleans, La. Long snapper Dimitrios Makridis points out Ohio State played well in victories at Washington, Penn State and Michigan.

"Not only are we in the national championship, but we're going to someone else's house," Makridis said. "We approach it like we did any away game this season. We went to some hostile environments, and we understand it's the national championship and it's another level, but we don't approach this any different than another away game."

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