<p>When it comes to his training, Nate Snyder is a creature of habit.</p><p>As was the case with most college athletes, the former Indiana University kicker’s routine was dropped into a blender the past few months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>Snyder’s uncertainty extended to a new location as well.</p><p>Seeking a more significant role, Snyder — who kicked off for the Hoosiers last season — entered the transfer portal in March and is now set to play this fall at the University Louisiana at Lafayette.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>Snyder is expected to cover all facets of kicking for the Ragin’ Cajuns — kickoffs, field goals and point-afters — and be ready as the team’s backup punter. He arrived on campus on June 6, almost three months to the day before Louisiana’s Sept. 5 opener against McNeese State.</p><p>“People are different, and I’m a planner,” Snyder said. “Not knowing made it hard to get used to it. I like to set up my training a certain way. I had to focus on keeping my body weight and the technique on my kicks.”</p><p>Snyder is in the process of getting to know new teammates and coaches. He’s working with junior long snapper Paul Boudreaux, as well as those in the running to be the team’s holder, on establishing timing and camaraderie.</p><p>Last season, Louisiana senior kicker Stevie Artigue was good on 16 of 22 field goal opportunities. The Ragin’ Cajuns finished with an 11-3 record, capped by a 27-17 triumph over Miami (Ohio) in the Lending Tree Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.</p><p>Louisiana is a member of the Sun Belt Conference, which includes Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Texas State and others.</p><p>The 6-foot-1 Snyder weighed 216 pounds in the spring, but maintained a more disciplined diet during the pandemic and is down to 205. His goal is to be at 210 pounds by the season opener and produce the kind of season that eventually earns him a National Football League tryout.</p><p>Over 20 schools reached out to Snyder once he was in the transfer portal. Louisiana was among the first.</p><p>Snyder, who overcame three surgeries on his left leg to work his way into IU’s special teams plans, doesn’t plan to use his final season of college football as a sightseeing mission.</p><p>“I have a business mentality. I’ve done this for years and know how everything works. I should make every single kick this year,” said Snyder, a 2016 Center Grove graduate who recorded 24 touchbacks in 55 attempts for the Hoosiers last season.</p><p>“I loved IU and still have an IU decal on my car. But the fit here was so good. You can tell by being around these guys that it’s going to be a fun season.”</p><p>Interestingly, the 11th game on the Ragin’ Cajuns’ schedule is a November 21 nonconference contest at Missouri. This is significant now that Snyder’s parents, Joel and Shannon, and sister Sophia, 14, reside in Prairie Village, Missouri, some 40 miles south of the Mizzou campus.</p><p>All that way from Indiana, and Snyder still gets a home game.</p>
