Justin Medlock

Justin Medlock

No. 7     Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Medlock while playing for the Toronto Argonauts in 2009
Date of birth	(1983-10-23) October 23, 1983
Place of birth	Fremont, California
Career information
Status	Active
Position(s)	K
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg)
College	UCLA
High school	Mission San Jose
NFL draft	2007 / Round: 5 / Pick: 160
Drafted by	Kansas City Chiefs
Career history
As player
2007	Kansas City Chiefs
2008	St. Louis Rams*
2009	Toronto Argonauts
2010	Washington Redskins*
2010	Detroit Lions*
2010	Omaha Nighthawks*
2010	Toronto Argonauts
2010	Edmonton Eskimos
2011	Hamilton Tiger-Cats
2012	Carolina Panthers
2013	Oakland Raiders*
2014–2015	Hamilton Tiger-Cats
2016–present	Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-Pac-10 (2004, 2005, 2006) Consensus All-American (2006)
CFL East All-Star	2011, 2015
Career stats
Field Goals made	8
Field Goals attempt	12
Field Goal %	66.7
Long Field goal	45
Playing stats at CFL.ca Playing stats at NFL.com

Justin Charles Medlock (born October 23, 1983) is a professional gridiron football placekicker who is currently a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. He played college football for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and earned consensus All-American honors. The Kansas City Chiefs selected him in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Medlock has also played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Toronto Argonauts and Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL), as well as the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He is married to LPGA golfer Hannah Jun Medlock.

Early years

Medlock was born in Fremont, California. He attended Mission San Jose High School In Fremont, and played for the Mission San Jose Warriors high school football team as both a punter and placekicker. Justin was ranked ninth in the country and was all-county and all-league at both positions. He averaged 43.1 yards per punt as a punter and made 11 out of 19 field goals in his junior and senior years.

College career

Medlock attended University of California, Los Angeles, where he played for the UCLA Bruins football team from 2003 to 2006. He set a UCLA career record with six field goals of fifty yards or more, and was a four-year letterman. Overall, he completed 70 field goals on 80 attempts, and 147 of 148 extra point attempts. As a senior in 2006, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

Medlock was drafted in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs with the 160th overall pick. Medlock was thought to go into the preseason competing with Lawrence Tynes for the kicking job, but the Chiefs traded Tynes to the New York Giants, thus making Medlock the de facto starter. Medlock was inconsistent in the preseason, making 3 of 6 kicks; the Chiefs released Medlock on September 10, 2007, after he converted a 27-yard field goal and missed on a 30-yard attempt in Week 1 against the Houston Texans, and signed Dave Rayner as a replacement.^[1]

St. Louis Rams

On February 11, 2008, Medlock signed with the St. Louis Rams. The Rams allowed Medlock to seek a trade after the signing of Josh Brown.^[2] He was later released on August 26, 2008.

Toronto Argonauts

Medlock signed with the Toronto Argonauts on April 16, 2009^[3] and competed with fellow new import kicker Eddie Johnson for the kicking spot vacated by the retirement of Mike Vanderjagt. At the end of training camp, the Argos elected to keep both kickers and coach Bart Andrus elected to start Johnson for game one and placed Medlock on the practice roster. Johnson, however, was injured on the opening kickoff when he separated his shoulder when tackling the return man and Medlock was slated to kick for game two of the 2009 Toronto Argonauts season.^[4]

On August 14, 2009, Medlock scored seven field goals, tying Lance Chomyc's Argonauts single-game team record and just short of the league record of eight shared by Dave Ridgway, Mark McLoughlin, and Paul Osbaldiston.^[5]

Washington Redskins

On February 12, 2010 the Washington Redskins signed Medlock to a future contract.^[6] He was waived on June 14, 2010.

Detroit Lions

On June 15, 2010 the Detroit Lions claimed him off waivers.^[7] He was waived on June 29, 2010.

Omaha Nighthawks

Medlock was signed by the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League on September 8, 2010.^[8]

Toronto Argonauts

With struggles by incumbent placekicker Grant Shaw, the Toronto Argonauts elected to re-sign Medlock through the 2011 CFL season.^[9] On October 12, 2010, Medlock was released by the Argonauts after the team traded for kicker Noel Prefontaine.

Edmonton Eskimos

On October 14, 2010, Medlock was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos.^[10]

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

On March 21, 2011, Medlock was traded by the Eskimos to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He enjoyed a strong 2011 season with Hamilton, making 49 of 55 field goals while also handling punting and kickoff duties He became a free agent on February 15, 2012.

Carolina Panthers

Medlock signed a 3-year contract with the Carolina Panthers on March 7, 2012.^[11] On November 20, 2012, after missing field goals in 3 straight games, Medlock was waived by the Carolina Panthers.^[12]

Oakland Raiders

On August 27, 2013, he was signed by the Oakland Raiders.^[13] On August 31, 2013, he was waived by the Raiders.^[14]

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

On January 8, 2014, Medlock signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League.^[15] Medlock was a member of the Ti-Cats during the 2011 CFL season.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

On February 9, 2016, Medlock signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.^[16]

References

External links

• Winnipeg Blue Bombers bio Archive copy at the Wayback Machine
• UCLA Bruins bio
• "Justin Medlock and being a black kicker" (Washington Post column by Dan Steinberg)