Cal Adomitis placed on Mannelly Award watch list

Pitt long snapper Cal Adomitis was placed on the Mannelly Award watch list on Monday. The award was established in 2019 to recognize the best college football long snapper in the nation, and Adomitis was featured on the watch list ahead of the 2020 season as well.

Adomitis is one of 31 long snappers included on the watch list. Of the 31 listed, 19 come from Power Five programs, including four from the ACC. That ranks second among Power Five conferences, with the Pac-12 leading the way with five watch list selections. The Big Ten and Big 12 are tied with the ACC with four each, and the SEC ranks last with one nominee.

The three ACC long snappers included on the watch list with Adomitis are Mitch Hall of Louisville, Oscar Shadley of Virginia Tech and John Taylor of Duke. And while they did well to earn their respective spots on the watch list, they will have an uphill climb to distinguish themselves in the ACC, let alone nationally, as Adomitis was a first-team All-ACC long snapper and a semifinalist for the award in 2020.

Last season could have been Adomitis’ last at Pitt, but he chose to return in 2021 as a super senior and turned down an invitation to the Senior Bowl in order to come back. His inclusion on the Mannelly Award watch list in back-to-back years reflects his status as one of the top long snappers in the nation, and he will look to capitalize on that status in 2021 and become Pitt's first Mannelly Award winner.

In 2020, Adomitis was beaten out for the award by Thomas Fletcher of Alabama. And in 2019, the inaugural winner was John Shannon of Notre Dame. Fletcher is now a long snapper with the Carolina Panthers, and Shannon ended his football career to pursue other interests.