Jason Snelling attended L.C. Bird High School in Chester, Virginia where he played running back on the football team and centerfielder on the baseball team for four years. He earned all-district honors as a freshman and both all-district and all-region honors as a sophomore. As a junior, Jason rushed for 1,689 yards and 18 touchdowns. He was named team, district, and regional offensive MVP. As a senior, Jason rushed for 1,444 yards and 14 touchdowns on his way to district and regional player of the year honors. He was named first team all-district, all-metro, all-region, and all-state following his senior season. He finished with over 3,300 rushing yards in his career and was considered to be one of the top 25 overall prospects in the state. He accepted a scholarship to the University of Virginia where he became an immediate contributor. Jason rushed 9 times for 38 yards and caught 31 passes for 314 yards, scoring 4 touchdowns as a true freshman. He missed the 2003 season with a sprained right shoulder and was awarded a redshirt for the season. Jason earned the team’s starting fullback position as a sophomore, rushing 26 times for 189 yards and a touchdown. He also caught 5 passes for 39 yards on the year. He missed five games due to a sprained ankle. As a junior, Jason saw action in all 12 games, rushing 58 times for 325 yards and 2 touchdowns. He added 19 receptions for 140 yards on the season. As a senior, Jason saw action in 11 of 12 games, missing the Wyoming contest due to an ankle sprain he suffered the previous week. He led the team in rushing with 772 yards and 7 touchdowns on 183 attempts as a senior. He also caught 29 passes for 282 yards.

Jason Snelling is a versatile player who had three years of experience at fullback before becoming Virginia’s featured back as a senior. He has good instincts and is a powerful, north-south runner who does most of his damage between the tackles. He is a very good short yardage back who has the strength to break tackles and gain additional yardage. He is a solid lead blocker and has above average hands as a receiver out of the backfield. Snelling is a bit of a running back/fullback “tweener”. He lacks great size for a fullback and he is a solid but unspectacular lead blocker. As a runner, Snelling lacks the speed to get to the edge and turn the corner. He isn’t a very elusive runner in the open field and he won’t break many long runs. Durability could be a cause for concern with Snelling. He only had one season in college where he saw action in every game (2005). He took a redshirt in 2003 when he had a sprained shoulder. In 2004 he missed 5 games due to a sprained ankle and he missed the Wyoming game as a senior with another ankle sprain. Snelling is a versatile player who can run, block, and catch. He should be a second day pick in the 2007 NFL draft.