<P> Center (C) is a position in American football and Canadian football (in the latter the position is spelled centre, following Commonwealth spelling conventions). The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense . The center is also the player who passes (or "snaps") the ball between his legs to the quarterback at the start of each play . </P> <P> In recent years, the importance of centers for a football team has increased, due to the re-emergence of 3--4 defenses . According to Baltimore Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome, "you need to have somebody who can neutralize that nose tackle . If you don't, everything can get screwed up . Your running game won't be effective and you'll also have somebody in your quarterback's face on every play ." </P>

Who hikes the ball to the quarterback in football