9
Daniel Sepulveda
PRO CAREER
(16-0/1-0): Drafted in the fourth
round (112th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft…has a large body frame
for a punter after beginning his college career at Baylor as a walk-on
linebacker…punted in all 16 games as a rookie and the AFC Wild Card Game…was the
recipient of the Joe Greene Great Performance Award in 2007, given annually to
the Steelers top rookie.
2007 (16-0/1-0):
Punted in all 16
games and the AFC Wild Card Game…named to Pro Football Weekly/PFWA All-Rookie
Team…2008 recipient of the Joe Greene award as Steelers’ Rookie of the Year…made
NFL debut in Week 1 win over Cleveland…punted 68 times for 2,880 yards (42.4
avg.)…had a net average of 37.9…had 28 punts downed inside the 20…punted a
career-long 59-yarder in a Week 4 loss at Arizona…had a single-game high five
punts downed inside the 20 in a Week 12 win over Miami…completed his first NFL
pass attempt to Najeh Davenport in a Week 16 win over St. Louis (32 yards)…had
one special teams tackle…punted four times for 177 yards (44.3 avg.) in the
playoff loss to Jacksonville…also had a long of 48 yards and one punt downed
inside the 20…9/9 at Cleveland: Had
six punts with four landing inside the 20 yard-line and the other two not being
returned…had a 45-yard long, while registering a 37.2 net avg...9/16 vs. Buffalo: Recorded one punt for
41 yards which was downed on the 7-yard line by William Gay...9/23 vs. San Francisco: Had two punts
for 84 yards (42.0 avg.)…his longest punt of 47 yards was saved from going into
the endzone by Bryant McFadden and then downed on the 8-yard line by James
Harrison...9/30 at Arizona: Had a
career-high seven punts for 360 yards (51.4 avg.)…registered one touchback,
while two were downed inside the 20-yardline...10/7 vs. Seattle: Recorded six punts
for 282 yards (47.0 avg.) with three landing inside the 20-yardline…also had one
special teams tackle...10/21 at Denver:
Logged two punts for 76 yards (38.0 avg.)…one of his punts was fair caught
by Glenn Martinez at the Denver 13-yard line...10/28 at Cincinnati: Was called on once
and had a 37-yard punt that Glenn Holt caught at the Bengals’ 18-yard line for a
fair catch...11/5 vs. Baltimore: Had
a season-high eight punts for 362 yards (45.3 avg.)…finished with a net average
of 41.8…had a long of 55 yards and had four punts land inside the 20-yard
line...11/11 vs. Cleveland: Punted
five times for 207 yards (41.4 avg.) with a long of 43 yards...11/18 at N.Y. Jets: Recorded five punts
for 207 yards (41.4 avg.) including a long of 46 yards...11/26 vs. Miami: Punted five times for
173 yards (34.6 avg.) as all five punts were downed inside the 20-yard line…had
a 47-yard punt in the third quarter that went out of bounds at the Dolphins’
six-yard line...12/2 vs. Cincinnati:
Punted four times for 162 yards (40.5 avg.), including a 49-yard long...12/9 at New England: Punted three times
for 126 yards (42.0 avg.), including a long of 44 yards…downed one punt inside
the 20-yard line...12/16 vs.
Jacksonville: Punted seven times for 286 yards (40.9 avg.), including a long
of 55 yards…downed two punts inside the 20-yard line…had a 55-yard punt in the
second quarter after the Steelers were pinned back at their own 11-yard
line...12/20 at St. Louis: Punted
two times for 105 yards (52.5 avg.), including a 53-yard long…also connected
with Najeh Davenport on a 32-yard pass to convert a fourth-down midway through
the second quarter...12/30 at Baltimore:
Punted four times for 149 yards (37.3 avg.), including a 48-yard long...AFC WILD CARD 1/5/08 vs. Jacksonville:
Punted four times, in his first postseason appearance, for 177 yards (44.3
avg.) with a long of 48 yards…had a 47-yard punt returned three yards by Jaguars’
return-man, Dennis Northcutt, to the vs. Jacksonville 9-yard
line.
COLLEGE:
Was one
of the most consistent punters in college football annals, so, it was only
fitting that he became the first two-time winner of the Ray Guy Award, given to
the top punter in the nation…Earned the award as a sophomore in 2004 and was
selected again after the 2006 season…Is one of only the 13 players in NCAA
Division I history to earn a major national award twice…He is the first to do so
in non-consecutive seasons…His career punting average (45.24 yards per punt) is
the best in the history of Division I football for players with at least 250
punts…He also established an NCAA record with 94 career punts of 50-plus
yards…Holds the school and Big Twelve Conference career-record 277 punts,
topping the old league mark of 268 by Shane Lechler of Texas A&M
(1996-99)…His season averages of 45.97 yards in 2004 (eighth), 46.18 yards in
2005 (seventh) and 46.48 yards in 2006 (tied for third) are all listed on the
Big Twelve Top Ten season-record chart…His career average of 45.24 yards rank
second in conference annals behind Mark Mariscal of Colorado (46.4 avg.,
2000-02)…Sepulveda's 277 punts for 12,531 yards broke the previous school
career-records of 252 attempts for 10,339 yards by Ron Stowe (1979-82)…His
45.24-yard average topped the previous school all-time record of 43.44 yards on
170 tries by Buzzy Sawyer (1983-85)…Had 21 punts for 60 yards or longer, topping
the previous Baylor record of 10 by Kyle Atteberry (1997-99)…His 93 punts for 50
yards or longer surpassed the old school record of 47 by Ron Stowe…His 87 punts
in 2003 broke the school and Big Twelve season record…His average of 52.1 yards
on nine punts vs. Kansas State in 2006 set a school game-record (minimum eight
kicks). 2006: Earned All-American first-team honors from The NFL Draft
Report, Associated Press, The Sporting
News, Walter Camp, Football Writers Association and the American Football
Coaches Association, becoming the school's first unanimous All-American since
Santana Dotson in 1991…He is the only player nationally to earn unanimous
All-America and first-team Academic All-America honors this season…The recipient
of the Ray Guy Award for an unprecedented two times, Sepulveda almost did not
make it to the football field for his final season…He tore the anterior cruciate
ligament in his right (non-kicking) knee during a pick-up basketball game over
the 2006 Easter holiday weekend, underwent successful surgery April 27 to repair
the damage…Led the nation and set a school season-record with 66 punts for 3,068
yards (46.48 avg), as eight of his kicks were ruled touchbacks, 20 were downed
inside the 20-yard line and 25 others gained at least 50 yards, including seven
for 60 yards or longer…Opponents returned only 31 kicks, as the Bears ranked
third nationally with a 39.01-net yard average…Had at least one punt downed
inside the 20-yard line in 11 contests (none vs. Army). 2005: With a 3.46
cumulative grade-point average in accounting, the three-time first-team Academic
All-Big Twelve Conference selection also earned first-team CoSIDA Academic
All-America honors, becoming just the third Baylor football player (and first
since 1963) to earn both academic and athletic All-American accolades in the
same season...Received second-team All-American recognition from The NFL Draft
Report, Associated Press, The Sporting
News and Rivals.com, third-team status from College Football News and honorable
mention from Sports
Illustrated...First-team All-Big Twelve choice by the Associated Press,
ESPN.com, The Dallas Morning News, Austin American-Statesman and San Antonio Express-News, adding
second-team honors from the league's coaches, Kansas City Star, Houston Chronicle, Fort Worth Star- Telegram and Waco Tribune-Herald...Also named to the
Express-News' Big 12 All-Decade
second-team honor squad...Ranked third in the nation with a punting average of
46.18 yards, as he connected on 62 kicks for 2,863 yards, including 13 that were
downed inside the 20-yard line…21.0 percent (13 of 62) of his punts pinned
opponents inside their own 20-yard line…Had 19 punts of 50-plus yards on the
season, including six of 60 or more yards...Over the season's final three games
he averaged 48.0 yards per punt with nine of his 23 kicks over that stretch
registering 50-plus yards...Named Big Twelve Special Teams Player of the Week
for his performance vs. Oklahoma State…Named to the fall Big Twelve
Commissioner's Honor Roll...Played 127 snaps, all on special teams, as he
recorded two solo tackles…Also served as the team's holder for placements and
field goals for the third consecutive year. 2004: Captured the Ray Guy Award as
college football's top punter and earned second-team All-American honors from
both the Walter Camp Foundation and Rivals.com, third-team recognition from the
Associated Press, College Football
News and College Sports Report, adding honorable mention status from Sports Illustrated...First-team All-Big
Twelve Conference choice by the league's coaches, the Associated Press and
ESPN.com as well as six of seven newspapers around the league who select
conference honor squads...Second-team CoSIDA Academic All- District VI
selection...Earned first-team Academic All-Big Twelve honors and Baylor's
special teams MVP award for the second-straight season...Named to the Big Twelve
Commissioner's Honor Roll for both the fall and spring semesters...Served as
special teams captain...Ranked second in the Big Twelve and third nationally
with a 45.97-yard average on 62 punts, totaling 2,850 yards…26 of his kicks were
downed inside the 20-yard line and 24 of his boots gained at least 50
yards…Opponents returned 23 kicks, as the Bears finished fifth in the nation
with a 40.56-net yard average. 2003: Despite not having punted since
junior high school, Sepulveda earned first-team All-Big Twelve Conference honors
from College Football News and
second-team recognition from the league's coaches...The redshirt freshman also
was selected first-team Academic All-Big Twelve, earned a spot on The Sporting News freshman All-Big
Twelve squad and was named to that publication's Dream Team...Honorable mention
All-Big Twelve Conference pick by the Associated Press...Named Baylor's special
teams MVP...Was a mid-year addition to the Ray Guy Award list, as he ranked
third in the conference and 23rd nationally with his 43.10-yard average...His
average ranked fifth nationally among all freshman punters and 23 of his punts
pinned opponents inside their 20-yard line...Recorded a Baylor record 26 punts
of 50 or more yards and had at least one such punt in every game…Finished with a
Big Twelve season-record 87 punts, good for 3,750 yards, but saw four of his
attempts blocked. 2002: Walked-on to the team and was redshirted as a
true freshman, performing as an outside linebacker on the scout team...Selected
to both the fall and spring Big Twelve Commissioner's Honor
Roll.
PERSONAL:
Attended Highland Park (Dallas, Tex.) High School, playing football for head
coach Randy Allen…Battled through injuries while earning second-team academic
All-State honors as a senior linebacker…The team posted a 22-3 in his last two
seasons, as he helped the Scots advance to the quarterfinals of the playoffs and
capture a district title his final year…National Honor Society member and
competed on the school's track team…Earned Academic All-Big Twelve Conference
honors four times and Academic All-American recognition three times…Son of Susan
and Carlos Sepulveda…Born Daniel Wade Sepulveda on 1/12/84 in Austin,
Texas...Resides in Dallas, Texas.
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