Nick Novak

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Nick Novak
Date of birth	August 21, 1981
Place of birth	Charlottesville, Virginia
Position(s)	Kicker
College	Maryland
Statistics	NFL.com
Team(s)
2005 2005 2006 2007-present	Washington Redskins Arizona Cardinals Washington Redskins Chicago Bears

Nick Novak (born August 21, 1981 in San Diego, California) is a kicker for the Chicago Bears.

A graduate of Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, Virginia, Novak attended the University of Maryland. An erratic kicker at the outset, it was during a nationally-televised game against Georgia Tech that the then-redshirt freshman established himself, successfully completing a 46-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. In the second stanza, Novak connected on a 26-yard field goal that ultimately won the game for a resurgent Terrapin team. Novak would go on to establish himself as one of the more consistent and clutch kickers in the country; his leg keyed comeback victories against North Carolina State in 2002 and 2003. Accordingly, he was frequently an all-conference specialist and a mainstay on the Lou Groza watchlist. During the first game of his senior season, he became the ACC's all-time leading scorer, a field goal allowing him to surpass Scott Bentley's career total of 324 points. Novak ultimately ended his college career with 393 points, best in the league and fifth-best all-time amongst kickers in the NCAA. He was also awarded the Jim Tatum Award by UMCP for his commitment to academics. 1

Novak, an undrafted free agent, signed with the Redskins in September 2005, and appeared in five games, most notably kicking a game-winning field goal in overtime against the Seattle Seahawks. He was released shortly thereafter, and was signed by the Arizona Cardinals, appearing in three games. He re-signed with the Washington Redskins on October 10, 2006, replacing injured kicker John Hall. On November 5, after missing a 49-yard field goal with 35 seconds left to go, Redskin safety Troy Vincent blocked a Dallas Cowboys field goal; Sean Taylor picked the ball up and ran it all the way to the Dallas 45 yard line. Then, a facemask penalty was called which moved the ball to the Cowboy 30 and gave the Redskins one more play with no time on the clock. Novak then kicked a 47-yard field goal to defeat Dallas 22-19 (the "Hand of God" game). On December 4, the Redskins released Novak in favor of Shaun Suisham. After the end of the 2006 season, he was signed by the Chicago Bears.