Jordan Ober is perfectly fine flying under the radar. He’s also OK with fans, and his own coaches, not knowing his name. It means he’s doing his job correctly.
“I embrace it,” Ober said. “I’m here to make Drew [Brown] look good and Caleb [Lightbourn] look good. I’ve embraced it and I love doing it.”
It doesn’t go unnoticed. Brown, Nebraska’s junior kicker, knows just how hard Ober works even if others don’t.
“No one knows his name because he does his job,” Brown said. “You don’t want to know the long snapper’s name.”
And so they don’t.
“It’s actually funny because Coach [Mike] Riley was telling me a story about how when [the staff] went out to western Nebraska one time, he was at a conference and they asked how many supporters there could name our long snapper. No one could.”
Fans aren’t the only ones unfamiliar with Ober. In fact, he recently found out that a Nebraska football coach wasn’t sure who he was either.
“We were getting on the bus the other day, going to the hotel and one of our coaches didn’t even know his last name,” Brown said. “You know you’re good when some of your own coaching staff doesn’t even know the long snapper’s last name.”
Neither Brown nor Ober would name the coach, but they both called the incident “pretty funny.”
Brown is also pretty sure Ober’s name has never been said on TV but that’s a good thing. If his name were said on TV, it would likely mean something went wrong. Brown credits that to the sophomore’s snaps always being “right on the money.”
Ober came to Nebraska from Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman High School. Considered one of the best long snappers in the country in high school, Ober helped Bishop Gorman’s kickers make 102-of-109 extra points and 4-of-7 field goals. He only got better at Nebraska.
Starting all 13 games as a true freshman, Ober helped Brown and punter Sam Foltz earn all-conference honors for their 2015 performances. He was also a big part in helping the Huskers rank as one of the best kicking units in the nation last season.
All of that is great, but Ober is humble. Ask him about any of his accolades to date and he’ll quickly put the attention back on Brown or Lightbourn. He’ll also tell you how close they all are, even if it’s because they’re “the weird ones” on the team.
“We have to [hang out] because no one else will hang out with us,” Brown said with a laugh.
Brown and Ober like to joke around. Brown teases Ober about the fact that he likes sports teams from all over. That includes the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Golden State Warriors and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ober jokes that he’s used to sitting back and waiting while Brown gets the interviews. The two are clearly more than teammates. They’re friends.
“He’s a fun person to be around,” Brown said.
Ober knows he has a job to do though, which is why he used to snap 80 times before a game. He’s now down to 10, but he’s still working just as hard. He wants to make his teammates (and friends) look good, even if that means you don’t know his name.
“I thrive off Drew’s success and I thrive off Caleb’s success,” Ober said. “When they’re happy, I’m happy.”
It goes both ways.
“And we’re happy when he’s happy,” Brown said.
Erin is the Deputy Editor and Digital Marketing Strategist for Hail Varsity. She has covered Nebraska athletics since 2012, which has included stops at Bleacher Report, Cox Media Group’s Land of 10, and even Hail Varsity (previously from 2012-2017). She has also been featured on the Big Ten Network, NET’s Big Red Wrap-Up, and a varsity of radio shows nationwide. When not covering the Huskers, Erin is probably at Chipotle.
