In the NCAA, defensive players are not able to line up within the shoulder length frame of the long snapper. Defensive players who play opposite of the long snapper are also not allowed to initiate contact with the long snapper until 1 second after the ball has been snapped. These rules were created to protect the long snapper, as they are in a compromised position with their head usually down and unprotected. In the NFL Unlike college, NFL rules do not provide for a set period of time after the snap before the long snapper can be engaged by the defense. However, no defensive player can line up directly in front of the long snapper when the offense is in a kick formation. Officials generally enforce this rule through verbal admonishment to an offending player prior to the snap. If the defensive lineman moves into a legal position before the snap, no penalty flag is thrown. Before specialization, the long snapper often was a player who primarily played another position, mostly assumed to be backup centers because they perform regular snap duties to quarterbacks, and also to quarterbacks positioned further out in a shotgun formation. However, a recent example would be Allen Aldridge, who started at linebacker for the Detroit Lions and also served as the team's long snapper. Buccaneers tight end Dave Moore spent the final three seasons of his career as the team's long snapper while regularly appearing on offense. This allows the team to dress another non-specialist player. Now, every team in the NFL has a specialized long snapper, a trend born on the Washington Redskins in 1971, where head coach and general manager George Allen made George Burman the first modern long snapper—someone whose roster spot was based on the long snap, and not other positions. Long snappers are usually amongst the least-known players in the NFL, because of their highly specialized and relatively invisible role on the field. They are also generally not drafted, rarely appear on trading cards, and normally are acquired as undrafted free agents, with a few exceptions: Todd Thomas was the first known player to be selected for his long-snapping abilities, in the fifth round (124th overall) of the 1981 NFL Draft, by the Kansas City Chiefs. He served as the long snapper for the Chiefs during the 1981 season, however, after that season he was primarily used as a tight