Tyler Ott is the new Commanders long snapper, signed last week to shore up what was unexpectedly a weak spot in DC last year, and much like a lot of others who signed here, he has a connection to the new staff – and as Ott told Rooster & Doc Tuesday, that’s all it took was a chance and a connection to new special teams coordinator Larry Izzo.
“I'm excited, man. It's good to be signed and locked in for this three-year deal, and excited to see what the DMV can get out of the Commanders moving forward. After my 10 years in Seattle and last year in Baltimore, really good special teams units I've been on, I get to reunite with Larry and really just build on what we had there,” Ott said. “I think I bring a proven vet presence, and I think I've been getting better and better every year. I think last year in Baltimore was one of my best years of my career, and I hope we can make Commanders fans’ fourth downs a little less stressful moving forward. That's been the goal of my whole career honestly, but just coming from what happened last year, hopefully as a group, Tress (Way), Brandon (McManus) and myself can just get in a nice groove. We got a bunch of proven vets now in our specialist group, and hopefully we can just roll and do something pretty good for this team.”
Last year was strong, but as mentioned, the chance to play for Izzo again only enticed him even more.
“I was excited to have a chance to come back and play for Coach Izzo. I think it's something that he puts out there, and I think if you look at our film from Seattle, guys are gonna play hard and fast and hit and tackle,” Ott said. “The opening sets the tempo and the tone for the game. Special teams is always a way to make a splash or a way to look really bad really fast, so we understand the importance of it. Coach Izzo has an edge to him; he’s super chill off the field, but he brings his playing style as a special teams legend on the field. How he played is how he coaches, and that's what I think what guys respond to, is that he's been out there and he's lived it. He's not gonna like hold guys back with technique and coaching necessarily, he's gonna let guys just go be ball players, and I think that's why we've had a lot of success in different ways in my time with him, and hopefully that just continues.”
And what he's seen so far in just a short time in DC has him excited.
“This isn't my first coaching change or team change, but it'll be my first time coming in with a brand new organization, so I think you see from top down from new ownership, what product they wanna put on the field and for the fan experience, you felt the energy,” Ott said. “You feel the energy when you walk into the building; it's good energy, we're here on a mission and in this together. We have so much potential that we can reach, and with the draft capital you have and how smart and aggressive management was in the first few days of free agency, I think it's going the right way now. We still have to go out there and improve it and put our brand on the field and show that we're moving in the right direction, but I got the sense that we're going in the right direction. It’s a project, but this is a great fit for me and my family, and I see what this organization is trying to do, so it's easier to buy in.”