Villanova football long snapper Adam Nelson invited to Chiefs minicamp

A few Villanova football seniors were waiting by the phone, hoping that NFL teams would call and offer a contract or an invite to rookie minicamp. As of this morning, none of those hopefuls had a path to the NFL settled. Front offices in the NFL are still working their way down the list, however, and this afternoon, long snapper Adam Nelson was invited to minicamp by the Kansas City Chiefs.

The story was first reported by the the St. Joseph News-Press (MO)'s Phil Ervin.

Nelson handled long snapping duties on all punts, extra points and field goals for the Wildcats after joining the team as a walk-on in the 2009 season. On special teams, he registered four tackles, including a half tackle for loss. He had previously played wide receiver and defensive end in high school, but adapted well to playing long snapper in college.

As a chemical engineering major, he was one of eleven players named to the CAA's Academic All-Conference Team.

He came to Villanova, not for football, but to play catcher and first base for the school's baseball team. He had a strong and accurate arm behind the plate and played in 93 career games for the Wildcats including 67 starts. For his career, he was a .248 hitter (51-206) with a .326 on-base percentage and a .325 slugging percentage on the diamond.

Nelson was considered one of Villanova's most realistic chances to put a player from this year's class into the pro-circuit, along with 5th-year wide receiver Norman White. There has been no news yet about White's status as a potential pro.