Mason Crosby

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mason Crosby

Mason Crosby during the 2007 season.
Green Bay Packers — No. 2
Placekicker
Date of birth: September 3, 1984 (1984-09-03) (age 23)
Place of birth: Lubbock, Texas
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight: 212 lb (96 kg)
National Football League debut
2007 for the Green Bay Packers
Career history
College: Colorado
NFL Draft: 2007 / Round: 6 / Pick: 193
 Teams:
Career highlights and awards
  • NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November 2007.
  • Lead the NFL in total points with 141 in his rookie 2007 season.
  • Holds Packers franchise record for most points scored (no touchdowns) in a single season (141).
Selected NFL statistics
(through Week 17 of the 2007 NFL season)
Field Goals Made     31
Field Goals Attempted     39
Field Goals %     79.5
Stats at NFL.com

Mason Walker Crosby (born September 3, 1984 in Lubbock, Texas), is a professional American football placekicker for the Green Bay Packers in the National Football League. During his playing days at the University of Colorado, Crosby was widely considered the best kicker in college football, as evidenced by ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr.'s Top 5 Seniors by position in 2006. Crosby was a unanimous selection as a First Team All American by the Associated Press, the Football Writers Association of America, The Sporting News, and Walter Camp Football Foundation for the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. He was the runner-up for the Lou Groza Award, despite being heavily favored to win.[1]

Contents

[edit] College career

Crosby kicking a field goal in the 2006 spring game.
Crosby kicking a field goal in the 2006 spring game.
Crosby talking to the press.
Crosby talking to the press.

During his senior season at Colorado, Mason Crosby became the first player in Big 12 Conference history to be named player of the week eight times.[2] In late 2006, he also became Colorado's all-time leading scorer, with 308 career points. The previous record holder was Eric Bieniemy (1987-1990) with 254.

While enrolled at Colorado, Crosby displayed extraordinary leg strength, making a school record 60-yard field goal against Iowa State in 2004. Crosby’s 58-yard field goal against Miami in 2005 was the longest ever kicked in NCAA Division I-A football at sea-level without a tee.[3] In all, Crosby holds 31 school records. Throughout his Colorado career, Crosby retained his accuracy, connecting on 66 of 88 field goals in total, and 30 of 34 inside 40-yards.[1]

During college, Crosby developed a reputation for kicking in the clutch, making 12 of 13 field goals in the fourth quarter, and a perfect 10-10 in the final 8 1/2 minutes of games. This bent was most evident when Crosby played rival Colorado State University, against which Crosby made kicks of 55 (2004), 48, and 47 yards (2005) in consecutive years to win the Rocky Mountain Showdown.

Crosby also served as the Buffs' kickoff specialist, where his knack for forcing touchbacks after touchdowns made him a fan favorite. Overall, 138 of Crosby's 203 career kickoffs were touchbacks, including an 87-yard kickoff touchback from the 20-yard-line against Iowa State in 2004.[1]


[edit] Statistics

Kickoffs Scoring / Field Goals
Season Total Touch Backs Inside 20 Over End Zone Opponent Avg. Start PAT 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+ FG-FGA Pct. Long Points
2003 37 26 2 17 23 31-37 0-0 4-4 0-0 3-4 0-1 0-0 7- 9 77.8 44 52
2004 59 41 6 26 21 28-30 1-1 5-5 5-5 3-5 4-6 1-1 19-23 82.6 60 85
2005 61 43 4 33 22 31-31 0-0 3-4 5-6 8-11 5-7 0-0 21-28 75.0 58 94
2006 46 28 8 12 22 11-11 0-0 5-6 7-8 5-5 2-6 0-3 19-28 67.9 56 76
TOTALS 203 138 20 88 22 100-108 1-1 17-19 17-19 19-25 11-20 1-4 66-88 75.0 60 308

Note: Average Starting Yardline: Onsides, short squibs and free kicks are omitted in figuring the above - out-of-bounds are not.

[edit] Collegiate Awards

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Green Bay Packers

Mason Crosby was chosen by the Green Bay Packers with the 19th pick of the sixth round (193rd overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft, the last of three consecutive picks for the Packers, and the third kicker overall. Crosby entered training camp in a battle with incumbent Dave Rayner for the right to boot the ball for the Packers. During Green Bay's first pre-season game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Crosby kicked a 52-yard field goal, the longest field goal in the history of Heinz Field, which is traditionally considered an extremely difficult place to kick. When the Packers made their final roster cut, it was revealed that Crosby beat out Rayner for the starting job.

In his first regular season game, Crosby converted all three field goals he attempted, including a 53-yarder and a 42-yard kick with two seconds left on the clock to help the Packers defeat the visiting Philadelphia Eagles. The kick was the first game-winner by a rookie on Kickoff Weekend since 1979 (when Matt Bahr achieved the same feat). Crosby is the first player in NFL history to kick a 50-yard field goal and a game-winning field goal with under a minute remaining in his NFL debut.[5] Crosby was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week (the first rookie kicker to receive this honor on opening weekend).[6]

Crosby was awarded the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November 2007. He led all NFL kickers with 54 points during the month and tied for the lead with 12 field goals as the Packers posted a 4-1 mark. Crosby converted 12 of 15 field goals during November and was a perfect 18-for-18 on PATs. The sixth-round pick (No. 193) had at least one field goal in every game, including four in the Week 9 win at Kansas City. His longest field goal of the month was a 52-yarder in the Week 13 contest at Dallas.[7] For the 2007 season, Crosby leads the NFL with 130 points scored and his 24 field goals rank first in the NFC. Crosby is currently 14 points away from setting the NFL record for most points scored in a season by a rookie (Kevin Butler had 144 points for Chicago in 1985).

Crosby was voted the Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week for games played on December 13 - 17. Crosby went four-for-four in field goals, including a long 50-yard field goal and 46-yard and 44-yard kicks, and three-for-three in extra points in the Packers' 33 - 14 win over the St. Louis Rams.[8]

Crosby finished the season leading the NFL with 141 points, the highest-scoring season by a kicker in franchise history and third-highest season point total by any Packers player.[9]

[edit] Professional Awards

  • 2007
    • NFC Special Teams Player of the Week (Week 1)[10]
    • NFC Special Teams Player of the Month (November)[11]

[edit] Personal Information

Mason Crosby graduated in December 2006 from the University of Colorado, majoring in communication. He attended Georgetown High School in Texas. He is a Houston Astros fan and an avid golfer.

[edit] Related Pages

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c 2005 Colorado Football - Game 13 - Clemson. University of Colorado. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  2. ^ Big 12 Conference Records. CSTV. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  3. ^ CU Player Bios.
  4. ^ a b c David Plati (2006-12-07). Crosby Named Walter Camp All-American (HTML) (English). CUBuffs.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-08.
  5. ^ Packers: Consistent Crosby keeps on course. Madison.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-29.
  6. ^ AFC/NFC Players of the Week. Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
  7. ^ Mason Crosby Named NFC Special Teams Player Of The Month. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
  8. ^ Mason Crosby Voted NFL Rookie Of The Week. Packers.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-23.
  9. ^ Jenkins, Chris. Green Bay Packers prepare for playoffs with 34-13 victory over Lions. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  10. ^ Kicker Crosby earns NFC weekly honor and had the most points in the NFL his rookie season.. Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
  11. ^ Mason Crosby Named NFC Special Teams Player Of The Month. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
v • d • e
Current Placekickers in the National Football League (as of Week 21 of the 2007 NFL season)
v • d • e
Green Bay Packers 2007 NFL Draft selections