BRANDON SNYDER: MULTI-SPORT ATHLETE

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Iowa Hawkeye football player Brandon Snyder is another tremendous all-around athlete to come out of northwest Iowa, graduating from West Lyon High School in 2014.  He is not only a fantastic football player and athlete, but he is a first-class individual.  Marc Morehouse of the Cedar Rapids Gazette recently featured Snyder in an article about the Iowa defensive backs, and we highlight this excerpt from the article (link):

Snyder is a natural athlete. As a ninth grader, he played defensive back and was kicker for the Class A state champs.

“We all liked Brandon Snyder coming out of high school,” defensive coordinator and secondary coach Phil Parker said. “I thought he was a very smart kid, tough kid. Played multiple sports. Could be a quarterback. Basically understands the game, and obviously he’s doing a lot of learning and it takes a lot of pressure.”

Snyder lettered four years in basketball, three in golf and two each in baseball and track. He scored 1,300 points and dished out more than 500 assists. He was a first team all-conference and all-district shortstop as a sophomore. He finished sixth in the state individual golf tournament.

“For me (all of the sports), they just kept everything fresh,” Snyder said. “You become more well-rounded. You learn different things in every sport. When you get to come here and spend the whole year with football, it’s actually pretty sweet.”

Along with weakside linebacker, Snyder will be a first-year starter this season. He’s good with that. He spent last year learning under former Hawkeye free safety Jordan Lomax, who put in extra time to make sure everyone was “getting it.”

“I can’t thank Jordan enough for everything he’s done for me,” Snyder said. “He was a coach to me, he was a brother to me. He taught me the ins and outs of the defense. He taught me everything I know.”