Rocco Underwood

Early life

Underwood is from Lake Mary, Florida. His father, David, was an All-American offensive guard for UCF; his brother, David Jr., played high school football; and Underwood is a cousin to National Football League (NFL) punters Tommy and Johnny Townsend, both of whom played college football for the Florida Gators. Underwood attended Lake Mary High School where he played football and basketball.

At Lake Mary, Underwood was used as a wide receiver, tight end and long snapper. He had 44 receptions for 848 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior and then caught 23 passes for 347 yards and five touchdowns as a senior. He was mainly recruited to play college football as a long snapper, receiving a ranking of number one nationally at the position by Rubio Long Snapping. He was ranked a six-star prospect by Rubio and committed to play for the Florida Gators.

College career

Underwood redshirted as a freshman at Florida in 2021, appearing only in their 2021 Gasparilla Bowl game against UCF. In 2022, he appeared in 13 games, recording one tackle and one fumble recovery. The following year, he played in all 12 games and made a total of one tackle. As a junior in 2024, Underwood played in 11 of 12 regular season games and tallied three tackles and a fumble recovery, being named second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Patrick Mannelly Award winner as the best long snapper in college football.