- Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen predicted he would one day receive Jon Condo's gratitude for giving him the long snapper assignment. Condo's response: "I was like, 'Yeah, OK, whatever.' "

Friedgen didn't share Condo's nearsightedness. Condo was a redshirt freshman simply looking for more playing time. The Terps' long snapper job opened, giving him an opportunity. He has parlayed that into a Pro Bowl selection.

Having completed his third season with the Oakland Raiders, Condo planned to spend this week settling into a Hermosa Beach, Calif., residence. That changed with a call alerting him he was headed to Miami as a "need" player for the AFC. He'll join Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and punter Shane Lechler, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, on the Sun Life Stadium sideline Sunday.

"Pure excitement," said Condo, who hails from tiny Philipsburg, Pa. "When I told my mom and dad and my brothers and all my friends, they were so ecstatic. My brothers were going crazy."

Older brothers Kurt and Bill both have long snapper experience. Kurt filled that role while playing for Indiana University of Pennsylvania. As a senior at Philipsburg-Osceola High, Bill would snap to Jon, then a sophomore punter.

Kurt provided some assistance, but the younger Condo, for the most part, was self-taught.

"I can sit there and [tell] you how I snap, but if it's not comfortable for you, you're probably not going to be able to do it," Condo said. "You get yourself in a stance and see how you feel. It was a lot of me tinkering with little mechanics and things like that."

Condo redshirted his first season at Maryland and then won the long snapping job in 2001 - a role he never relinquished.

"We didn't have a long snapper when Jon got here, and I asked him to move from linebacker," Friedgen said. "He wasn't happy about the switch at first, but he ended up being our long snapper for four years and said it was the best thing that happened to him. He did a heck of a job for us."

In 2003, Condo was given the award for Maryland's top special teams performer, the first time in Terps history a long snapper claimed that honor. After finishing his Maryland career in 2004, Condo went undrafted and later failed to latch on with the New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys in 2005. The Raiders added him to their practice squad toward the end of the following season.

"I try to watch as many of the Oakland games as I can to keep up on him," Friedgen said. "It seems like he's always making plays on special teams. We're very proud of the success he's had in the NFL."

Condo - who attended Maryland's season opener at California and spoke to the team before the game - said that even though his first two chances at making an NFL roster didn't work out, he always kept hope alive.

"I always had faith I'd get more opportunities," Condo said. "It was one of my dreams to play in the NFL, and once I conquered that goal, obviously I want to stay in the league, but my next goal was to make a Pro Bowl somehow, some way."

Most snappers don't have a big impact on punt coverage, but Condo is among the exceptions. Though undersized - he is 6 feet 3, 250 pounds - compared with many tackles across from him, Condo still broke free for a career-best 10 special teams tackles, including seven solo stops.

"I just remember Coach Friedgen saying, 'Jon, someday you're going to thank me for this,' " Condo said. "I go back there now and he's like, 'See, I told you so.' "

Baltimore Sun reporter Jeff Barker contributed to this article.

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