One of the unnoticed contributors to the Vikings' success this season has been long snapper Cullen Loeffler, who in four years has had one bad snap, that coming in his second year, against the Lions.

And Loeffler said he is approaching 500 snaps with the Vikings.

Loeffler, the former Texas snapper who was signed four years ago as a rookie free agent, gets good notices from kicker Ryan Longwell, who is having a great year, having made 17 of 20 field goals. Longwell said he is fortunate to have somebody as good as Loeffler at his job.

"For nine years at Green Bay, Rob Davis was my snapper," Longwell said. "I've been lucky because Loeffler is just as good."

Loeffler played four different positions in high school and started out as a tight end and special teams player for the Longhorns. "I actually became a snapper my sophomore year in college," the 6-5, 241-pound center said. "Just kind of messing around, we had lost a couple of games because of some blocked punts. Chris Ryan [Texas assistant coach] came up to me and said, 'I think you'd be good at doing this.' I was a former high school quarterback so it kind of just came about through that. Now, I'm here."

Being a long snapper is not an easy job, he said.

"Especially when you've got some guys that cross the line, just trying to make you look bad when you're in a defenseless position," he said. "But it can also be a great job with a lot of longevity."

Loeffler said some recent changes in the rules have helped long snappers.

"For extra points and field goals, the defensive tackles or ends ... are not supposed to line up directly over your head, but over your shoulder -- so you don't have as many head collisions now. It's not always the case, but it's helping," he said.

"... It's hard to see, and make that call in the games. It's a very fine line you have to walk."

There was some question whether Dallas lineman Chris Canty broke that rule when he blocked one of Longwell's field goals and it was returned for a touchdown in the Vikings' 24-14 loss to the Cowboys on Oct. 21. Loeffler refused to question the call, even though some Vikings coaches felt it was missed.

"You've just got to take it one snap at a time and treat that snap as the first snap of the game, because every snap's important, every kick's important, every field goal's important," he said. "So that's what our mindset is going into, say, the last kick of the game -- hopefully bringing a 'W' home for the Vikings."

Gophers coach Tim Brewster was Loeffler's position coach at Texas, and Loeffler is a great booster of the new Gophers coach as a recruiter and coach.

"He had a rough go this year, but with his personality and his charisma and his relentless effort, I think he'll just be fine," Loeffler said. "He's a great recruiter, brought in a lot of tremendous athletes that are now in the NFL."

That list of pros Brewster coached includes Alge Crumpler, Bo Scaife, Freddie Jones, former Viking Greg DeLong and Derek Lewis, who played for the Rams and is now the Gophers' tight ends coach.

Help for Gophers A week from today is junior college football signing day, and the Gophers are expected to sign at least five and maybe six junior college transfers, all with great records last fall. Most of them made at least one junior college All-America team.

They include: linebacker Rex Sharpe, Arizona Western; defensive backs Traye Simmons, College of Sequoias, and Tramaine Brock, Mississippi Gulf Coast; quarterback David Pittman, Pasadena City Junior College.

There also is a good chance that Byron Stingily, a standout offensive tackle from Joliet Community College will join the group.

In addition, Notre Dame transfer offensive lineman Matt Carufel will also sign on that date. Carufel, from Forest Lake, played for Cretin-Derham Hall.

Freshman help Outstanding play by freshmen Blake Hoffarber of Hopkins and Al Nolen from Henry has helped spark the Gophers basketball team.

"I said from the beginning that they were very mature for their age," Gophers coach Tubby Smith said. "They come from a system -- Hoffarber, where coach [Ken] Novak played an up-tempo style, a pressing style, aggressive style. And he's been a marked man over his career because he was the leading scorer in his high school.

"And a guy like Al Nolen, he probably had to carry a major load, and they pressed and ran. ... So they were able to adapt and adjust."

Hoffarber scored nine points off the bench against South Dakota State on Wednesday, and Nolen had three key free throws at the end.

Jottings Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi said the scoreboard for the new football stadium will be second only to one in the Texas stadium in size. Cost for all of the scoreboards in the stadium will be about $9 million.

Bryce Webster, the former St. Thomas Academy center who left Minnesota to attend Irvine Valley Junior College in California, has signed a tender to attend Utah State next season.

Last year, quarterback Tony Romo cost the Cowboys an opportunity to advance in the playoffs when he botched a snap from center on a possible winning 19-yard field-goal attempt against the Seahawks. Romo no longer holds for extra points and field goals -- that job has gone to former Viking Brad Johnson.

Local pro golfer John Harris, who earned $461,207 on the PGA Champions tour this year, said he will go back on tour next month. ... Billy Robertson, vice president of communications and broadcasting for the Wild, reports that for the sixth time in seven years the Xcel Energy Center has been nominated for "Arena of the Year" by Pollstar Magazine.

Former Gophers center Greg Eslinger, who was drafted by the Broncos and then traded to the Browns, was released this week. ... Gophers baseball players Matt Nohelty and Nate Hanson were named to the watch list for the preseason Brooks Wallace College Baseball Player of the Year Award.

Taylor VanderAarde, a member of the 2003-07 Gophers baseball team, has been named the team's director of baseball operations. ... Among players taken in last week's Rule 5 Draft was former Gophers infielder Luke Appert, who was taken by the Phillies off the A's roster. Appert, a sixth-round pick of the A's, hit .304 last season in 125 games split between Class A and AA.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. and on his Podcast twice a week at www.startribune.com/sidcast. shartman@startribune.com