By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Luke Elkin doesn’t usually get mentioned in the same sentence as Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins and running back Kaleb Johnson.

But it happened Friday in a release by the Iowa Sports Information Department:

Seniors Luke Elkin and Jay Higgins were honored on the first team, while junior Kaleb Johnson was recognized on the second team.

The sentence was in regard to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) 2024 All-America team, and what makes its postseason awards unique is that since 2021 the AFCA has included the long snapper position as part of the honorees.

Luke Elkin has been Iowa’s long snapper the past four seasons, and he was a second-team all-conference honoree just last week. He earned the team’s Next-Man-In Award (special teams) as a freshman, Hayden Fry Award as a sophomore and Coaches Appreciation Award as a junior.

Elkin snapped for Iowa punter Rhys Dakin and kicker Drew Stevens, as well as Tory Taylor, the Ray Guy Award recipient and consensus All-American in 2023.

The fact that Elkin, a native of Neenah, Wisconsin, hasn’t been in the news, besides getting this award, and that many Iowa fans probably couldn’t name the longer snapper, is a tribute to his long-standing success and consistency.

Imagine the chaos that would occur if a team had an unreliable long snapper.

Every punt and kick would be like walking a tight rope, wondering if disaster was about to strike.

A long snapper is sort of like an official, referee or umpire in that the less you hear about them, the better.

The only time we hear about Luke Elkin is when Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz or Iowa special teams coordinator LeVar Woods make it a point to recognize his underappreciated role.

I’ve never interviewed Elkin, or asked to interview him, and that’s on me for not appreciating what he has meant to Hawkeye football, and what every long snapper has meant to Hawkeye football.

It’s hard to think of the last time that Iowa had an unreliable long snapper.

So much goes into building a winning football team, and excelling on special teams is a big part of it.

Kirk Ferentz has made special teams a priority throughout his 26-year reign as head coach, and naming LeVar Woods the special teams coordinator in 2017 was proof of that commitment.

Specials team and defense have helped Iowa stay as a winning team despite the many flaws that have hurt the offense.

Elkin’s job is easy to take for granted, but it’s far from easy, putting the ball exactly where it needs to be every single time.

It takes practice, practice and more practice, along of course, with some skill and self-confidence.

Iowa will close the 2024 season against Missouri in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30 in Nashville, Tennessee.

And while Kirk Ferentz has plenty to be concerned about heading into the bowl game from a coaching standpoint, he doesn’t have to worry about his senior long snapper because Kirk Ferentz knows he can always depend on Luke Elkin to do his job with hardly any notice.