You’ve probably walked by J.J. Jansen without knowing it — he’s cool with that

Joggers, dog walkers or anyone else passing by Charlotte’s Freedom Park during quarantine were greeted by an unusual site: A man in his mid-30s in shoulder pads and a helmet, with his head between his legs snapping footballs into a pitching net.

That’s how J.J. Jansen worked on his craft during the COVID-19 shutdown.

A few months later at the other end of the park, Jansen is less recognizable as the coach of a 7-year-old baseball team. Wearing sports gear and a neck gaiter — but nothing identifying him as an NFL player — Jansen blends in with the rest of the Dilworth Little League parents on a gorgeous fall evening below a harvest moon, which his how he likes it.

Jansen has mostly managed to maintain his anonymity in Charlotte, despite quietly becoming the longest-tenured player on a Panthers’ team that has undergone a major roster overhaul the past couple of offseasons.

At least he did until last Sunday, when he received his 15 minutes of fame after downing a punt at the Chargers’ 1-yard line near the end of the Panthers’ 21-16 victory.

Jansen didn’t go viral exactly, although the Panthers’ tweeted a graphic of the play with Jansen wearing a cape. And when he showed up at Field 2 at Freedom Park for Wednesday’s practice, a couple of kids nervously approached him.

“I’m not sure that any of the dads know who I am. But a couple kids have walked by and kind of sheepishly (said) like, ‘Hey, good play.’ And then they kind of run,” Jansen said. “The kids probably know. All the 7-year-olds know. They might have not known until this week. It’s like, ‘I think that guy’s our first-base coach.’ They might not have known otherwise.”

That Jansen has kept a low profile over 12 seasons with the Panthers is a testament to his skill set. Only twice over that span has he had an obvious bad snap — in a Week 1 loss against the Giants in 2010, and in the 2018 opener against Dallas, although that one hit the leg of a lineman who overstepped.

“Trust me,” Jansen said, “there’s been other plays that no one’s noticed because I’ve had good holders, good kickers.”

J.J. Jansen was just 23 when he arrived in Charlotte (he’s 34 now).

Since being traded from Green Bay to Carolina in 2009, Jansen has snapped for six placekickers, five punters and three head coaches. His career spanned the Panthers’ entire, 26-year history in a sense: Jansen has played with everyone from kicker John Kasay, one of the team’s first unrestricted free agents in 1995, to this year’s rookie class.

“He’s seen a lot of football,” quarterback Teddy Bridgewater said. “He’s been in the locker room with different guys who have come and (gone) — some who had success, some who struggled. He’s a guy who a lot of young guys can lean on, no matter what they may be going through.”

Bridgewater concedes most fans probably don’t view a long snapper as a leader.

“Yeah, he may just be the long snapper in some guys’ eyes. But he’s a huge mentor on this team for a lot of guys,” he added. “If you go into the locker room right now, you’ll see him holding church, having three or four different guys around his locker. So he’s very valuable to this team and we all appreciate him.”

Special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn says Jansen has been a good sounding board for the team’s two young specialists — kicker Joey Slye and punter Joe Charlton. Jansen also has encouraged safety Jeremy Chinn, the personal protector on punts, to take on a leadership role, even as a rookie.

But Blackburn said players from all three phases benefit from the loquacious Jansen.

“I don’t know if you know him, but he likes to talk sometimes. So he’ll engage in conversations and have a good time with guys in the locker room about all different topics, which helps bring guys together,” Blackburn said. “When it’s football, it’s football. But when it’s other times, he’s great to have a conversation with about multiple topics.”

As a young player, Jansen said he was mentored by veterans such as Kasay, Thomas Davis, Steve Smith and Josh McCown. He’s tried to pay it forward.

“It’s a little easier as you start to become an older player on the team. They figure that guy might have lived the life a little bit, especially as guys get into being married and having kids,” he said. “I can’t tell anyone how to play middle linebacker. I can’t tell anybody how to run fit. I might be able to tell them how to take the job professionally, and then the stuff away from it. Having great relationships with your wife or your girlfriend or your kids.

“I found that sort of stuff to be really valuable with my football career, and it’s something I know I can speak into and I’ll be taken seriously.”

Jansen was a multi-sport athlete at his all-boys school in Phoenix. He could have played small-college baseball, but decided to go to Notre Dame as a walk-on long snapper, the position his father taught him in high school.

Jansen was looking for a way to make varsity as a sophomore. His dad, who snapped for his high school team, suggest long snapping. Nearly 20 years later, Rick Jansen still texts his son before games with a two-word message: prime directive.

“That’s something we did in high school, which was always just, ‘The snap’s the most important thing. Prime directive and have fun,’” J.J. Jansen recalled. “Try to keep your focus on the primary thing, which is snapping, and then just remember that sports is supposed to be fun.”

And after 179 games and thousands of snaps, Jansen still enjoys playing. Jansen was sidelined as a rookie in Green Bay after injuring his knee in the final preseason game. But he hasn’t missed a snap in a dozen years with the Panthers, and now ranks near the top of the team’s all-time list for games played.

Barring an injury or an illness, Jansen will pass Smith for second place Week 7 at New Orleans. Jansen, who is set to become a free agent after this year, would have to play through the 2022 season with the Panthers to overtake Kasay, whose 221 games are the most in franchise history.

“I would play here as long as they would have me. I love playing here,” said Jansen, who turned 34 in January. “Hopefully I never have to make a decision to play someplace else. But I’d like to keep playing as long as I can.

“It’s so much fun. The stuff that gets overlooked are the plane ride homes and all that good stuff. That’s why you do all this stuff. Guys want to win and win Super Bowls. But the relationship part of football, at least for me, is the best part.”

Good long snappers tend to enjoy longevity. More than a third of the NFL’s current snappers have at least nine years of experience, a list led by the Lions’ Don Muhlbach (17th season), the Cowboys’ L.P. Ladouceur (16th) and Jansen (13th).

Blackburn said older long snappers sometimes lose the zip on their snaps, or their protections and coverage fall off — none of which he’s seen with Jansen.

“I don’t see any slowdown in his game with his accuracy, with his speed and his location, as well as protection and coverage,” Blackburn said. “I’d put him up there with the top guys in the league still. He proves it day in and day out.”

For someone who sometimes gets mistaken for former kicker Graham Gano in public, Jansen admits the attention he’s received this week has been cool.

“It was a fun play. I didn’t know it would take on a life of its own,” he said. “Coach (Matt) Rhule teased me. He goes, ‘I still think it was a touchback.’ Guys have been playful. It was an exciting play to be a part of. I’ve been very appreciative that everyone’s been overwhelmingly supportive.”

J.J. Jansen and his son, Luke (Joe Person / The Athletic)

That included some of the 20 or so 7-year-olds on Wednesday.

With Greg Olsen in Seattle, Jansen is now the Panthers’ unofficial Little League dad. On this night, it’s a bit like herding cats. But Jansen stays patient and positive as he encourages several of the boys to get closer to the plate when he’s throwing batting practice.

Luke Jansen is a member of the team. His favorite sports are baseball and basketball, although he’s already started asking his dad how to snap a football.

“He sees me do it. So it’s like, ‘Can I do this?’” Jansen said. “But he’s like any kid. He wants me to throw him passes. He’s trying to learn the passing tree. And I joke, I’m still trying to learn the passing tree.”

That self-deprecating humor isn’t false modesty. Mike McDonald, who’s helping Jansen with the baseball team, says you’d never know Jansen was an NFL player based on how he acts at the field.

“He’s never mentioned it any time I’ve met him. Down to earth. He just seems like a dad who’s trying to make all these kids better,” McDonald said.

“We’ve never talked football, other than me saying, good luck this week. Although after Sunday, that play he made, the secret’s out.”

(Top photo of J.J. Jansen: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)