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Chase Dominguez's job description includes being good friends with kicker Andy Phillips and punter Tom Hackett, two of the University of Utah's coolest football players. While teammates are sweating and straining on the Utes' practice field during camp in August, they spend most of sessions in the fieldhouse or the stadium, working on their own stuff.

"If you go to college, you want to be a specialist," Dominguez said, "because we have a pretty good lifestyle."

Even within the specialty realm, Dominguez is a member of his own trendy group. Label it the Subculture of Snappers.

The art of long snapping once was an afterthought for football coaches, who auditioned traditional centers and other players for the extra job of delivering the ball for punts, extra points and field goals. Not anymore. This is big business now, because college coaches have discovered the value of such specialization. In his 11th season, Ute coach Kyle Whittingham now designates three of his 85 scholarships to a kicker, punter and snapper.

So it no longer can be considered a thankless job, even if two truths remain: Few all-conference and All-America teams include a snapper, unlike kicker and punter. And snappers tend to be mentioned only when they make mistakes.

That's why Phillips and Hackett — who holds the ball for Phillips' kicks — praise Dominguez whenever they can. "I don't need credit for it, but it's nice when they give me a little credit sometimes," Dominguez said. "It's tough. It's a no-glory position, but when you screw up, it's everywhere."

By the accounts of Phillips and Hackett, that has happened only once in Dominguez's two seasons, covering nearly 300 snaps. In a 2013 game at Washington State, an extra-point snap was high, ultimately resulting in Hackett's trying to throw a pass. So the play went into the books as a failed two-point conversion attempt. Otherwise, perfect snaps have been fairly routine for Dominguez, who's a product of a genuine industry of long snapping.

Chris Rubio, a former UCLA long snapper, initially staged a camp in 2002 in Las Vegas with 10 participants. By this year, enrollment had grown to 300 in one of 30 annual events held around the country by Rubio Long Snapping, which has become a placement service for college prospects.

Thanks to 32 positions on NFL rosters, there's some further growth potential. Phillips and Hackett have NFL-level kicking talent, and Dominguez is capable of joining them. "It would not surprise me one bit to see this kid go pro," said Rubio, who now employs Dominguez as a camp coach.

Long arms are considered the biggest attribute for a long snapper. Dominguez has grown to 6-foot-5, giving him advantages that Rubio laughingly describes as "just cheating, at this point."

So the Ute junior is becoming a name to watch in the snapping world. Naturally, Dominguez has his own idols, including Matt Overton of the Indianapolis Colts and Jon Dorenbos of the Philadelphia Eagles. As for comparisons, Rubio likens Dominguez to Aaron Brewer of the Denver Broncos. They may lack the velocity of some snappers, but they're "extremely accurate and consistent," he said.

Long snapping is a classic case of a job that offers a relatively easy workload but is hard to do well. Dominguez tried football in ninth grade as a receiver and defensive back, then quit to focus on baseball before the football coach at Orange (Calif.) Lutheran High School asked to him come back and fill a long-snapping vacancy. He learned quickly. That pretty much explains how he got to Utah, joining Phillips and Hackett.

The Utes use the NFL model of having the punter function as the holder, enabling the three specialists (plus backup kicker Jon Halliday and punter Chris Van Orden) to work together throughout practices, without pulling away another player.

They do have fun. "We're all just goofy, funny guys," Dominguez said. "If I was a regular player, I'd want to be friends with the specialists."

Twitter: @tribkurt About Chase Dominguez

High school • Orange (Calif.) Lutheran

Family • Parents, Ron and Tamara, are both hair stylists; twin brother, Reid, plays volleyball for UC Irvine

Snaps • 290 in two seasons: 156 punts, 86 extra points, 48 field goals.

Coverage • Four solo tackles, one assist and one fumble recovery in punt coverage