ODU's Rick Lovato: from sub-making in Jersey to punt-snapping in Green Bay

Rick Lovato walked into Joyce’s Subs and Pizza in Lincroft, N.J., a few days before Christmas, prepared for another day of work.

Joyce’s is a decades-old neighborhood restaurant in the small, unincorporated town of 6,000, a place owned by Lovato’s father and uncle. Lovato did everything there – worked the cash register, washed dishes and made subs and pizzas.

“It’s not very big, but it’s the spot everyone goes to,” said Lovato, who has worked there on and off since he was in junior high . “It’s a family-oriented place. I love it there.”

A four-year starter at long snapper for Old Dominion, Lovato was at Joyce’s last month trying to make ends meet while he waited for a call from an NFL team. He was working out at a nearby gym and kept sharp by snapping to former ODU teammate Malik Gumbs, who lives a few miles away.

The call he’d been waiting for came Dec. 21 from the Green Bay Packers, whose long snapper, Brett Goode, had injured his knee.

The Packers wanted Lovato to report immediately.

Seven days later, he became the first ODU alumnus to play in the NFL when he accurately snapped the ball seven times to punter Tim Masthay against Arizona .

Other former ODU players have seen action in exhibition games. Defensive tackle Ronnie Cameron briefly made an NFL roster. Quarterback Taylor Heinicke has been with Minnesota all season.

Being the first from the school to get into a regular-season game “means a lot to me,” Lovato said.

Lovato will play in his third NFL game, and the his first in the playoffs, when the Packers meet the Washington Redskins on Sunday at FedEx Field.

Lovato was never a big NFL fan, but as a Jersey boy, has a natural dislike of the Redskins. He spent time at ODU with the family of Christie Harrison Sykes. His uncles lived next door to her in Norfolk when they attended ODU in the 1980s. Sykes and her husband, Richard, have Redskins’ season tickets.

Sykes says they will root for the Redskins, and Lovato, at FedEx Field.

Lovato said his four years at ODU “made me despise the Redskins more than I had before I got there.

“But (Sykes and her husband are) great people. I appreciate that they’ll be there.”

In 50 games at ODU, he never had an errant snap. He was a low-profile player, and that’s a good thing, he said.

“Whenever a long snapper gets in the newspaper, it’s because there was a bad snap,” he said.

Lovato has been a long snapper since the sixth grade. He wanted to play quarterback, but coaches said he was too big, so they put him at center.

His high school coach told him he might get a scholarship if he honed his snapping skills, so he began going to snapping camps as a junior.

Rutgers wanted him to walk-on and Towson offered him a scholarship.

But he was won over by ODU special teams coach Michael Zyskowski, who offered half a scholarship and the promise of a full ride if he started.

“Coaches at Old Dominion kept their promises,” he said. “I loved it there.”

Lovato was undrafted and spent most of the preseason with Chicago before being cut. He had a tryout with Miami , then another with the Packers in mid-December.

“Long snappers sometimes have to wait three or four years or longer before they get their chance,” he said. “You have to be patient.

“I was surprised when the Packers called. I figured I might have to wait until next season.”

Lovato was rewarded two days after his NFL debut with a two-year contract. It doesn’t guarantee he will make the team next season, but does guarantee a minimum salary of $450,000 if he does.

That’s quite a stash for a guy who was making subs just three weeks ago.

“It’s all happened so quickly,” Lovato said. “I haven’t had time to take it all in.”

Last week, when the Packers hosted Minnesota, he was reunited with Heinicke, his close friend and college roommate for four years.

“I went out on the field three hours before the game hoping he would be there and he was,” Lovato said. “He was throwing with some teammates and screamed out my name.”

After a bear hug, they talked about the irony of where Lovato was playing – Heinicke and his father, Brett, were diehard Packers’ fans. Heinicke’s father died from a heart attack during his freshman year.

“I told him how excited his father would have been to see him play against the Packers,” Lovato said.

His teammates have been gracious, Lovato said. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers introduced himself his first time in the locker room. Two players invited him to spend Christmas with them.

“Even the veterans in the locker room have been just awesome,” he said.

“I’m happy to have landed in such a great spot. I’m really fortunate.”