Team

GAMES/STARTS (regular season, playoffs) 2005 (15/0), 2006 (16/0), 2007 (16/0), 2008 (16/0, 1/0), 2009 (16/0, 2/0), 2010 (16/0), 2011 (16/0). Total- 111/0, 3/0.

• • Voted by teammates as Vikings 2010 Special Teams MVP.
• • Set Vikings records with a 47.6-yard gross punting average and 33 punts of 50+ yards in 2008.
• • Holds the top 3 marks in Vikings history for landing punts inside the 20, including team-record 34 in 2007 and runner-up 32 in 2010.
• • Earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Month in September 2005, the only rookie in Vikings history to win a Player of the Month award. 
• off the field Known for his Guitar Hero skills, the game inspired him to learn to play guitar and he now plays bass guitar in a Twin Cities band, Tripping Icarus...Band released a debut full-length CD in summer 2010...Married to Isabel, the couple has a daughter, Olivia...Political science and history major...Has taken his Guitar Hero talents and uses them for a good cause, hosting charity tournaments playing the video game...Avid paintball player.

HONORS Voted 2010 Vikings Special Teams MVP...2008 USA Today All-Joe Team...NFC Special Teams Player of the Month in September 2005.

pro In 7 seasons, has already etched his name into the Vikings record book in several games, single-season and career...Owns Vikings career gross punting average record at 44.4 yards per punt and ranks 2nd in career net punting at 36.9 ypp, trailing Bobby Walden’s 38.2...Ranks 2nd in career punts with 551, trailing Greg Coleman’s 721...Holds top single-season gross average (47.6 in 2008), 50-yard punts in a season (35 in 2008), 50-yard punts in a game (6 at Tennessee and vs. Detroit in 2008) and gross punting average in a game (57.5 at Detroit in 2007)...Holds Vikings career record with 180 punts landed inside the 20...Holds top 3 marks in Vikings single-season history for punts inside the 20, highlighted by team-record 34 in 2007...Owns Vikings career record with 168 punts of 50+ yards...Agreed to long-term contract extension with Vikings in October 2007...Converted fake FG for a 1st-down vs. Detroit (12/2/07), hitting Jeff Dugan with a shovel pass for a 27-yard gain...Came to the Vikings as a virtual unknown in 2005 when he was claimed off waivers after being released by Seattle…Holder for FGs and PATs.

2011 Notched 2nd-best gross punting average of his career with a 45.7-yard mark...Posted career-best touchback percentage of his career at 3.8%, only 3 touchbacks in his 77 punts for the season, a mark that ranked 3rd in Vikings history...Had season-best 49.5-yard gross average vs. Denver (12/4) on 6 punts...Landed 3 punts inside the 20 in 3 games on the season...Booted season-high 7 punts at Atlanta (11/27) and vs. New Orleans (12/18)...Had 24 punts of 50+ yards on the season, tied for the 3rd-best mark of his career.

2010 Earned Vikings Special Teams MVP as voted by teammates...Had career-high 38.9 net punting average, the 2nd-best in team history and highest since 1964...Took ownership of several Vikings career punting records, including most games with a 50+ yard punt (69) and career punts inside the 20 (158), passing Greg Coleman in each category...Notched the 2nd-best total of his career with 32 punts landed inside the 20, trailing his team-record 34 in 2007...Ranked tied for 5th in the NFL and 2nd in the NFC with 32 punts inside the 20...Posted career-high 46.0 net punting average vs. Arizona (11/7)...Had career-high 10 punts and 458 punting yards in game vs. NY Giants (12/13), a game played at Detroit’s Ford Field after the collapse of the Metrodome roof.

2009 Had top net punting average of his career at 37.8 yards, the 4th-best mark in team history...Had 24 punts of 50+ yards, the 3rd-most in a season in Vikings history, trailing the top 2 he set himself with 33 and 29 in 2008 and 2007...Landed 24 punts inside opponents 20...Served as holder on all FGs and PATs as Ryan Longwell had career-best season...Boomed 61-yard punt in Divisional Playoff game vs. Dallas (1/17/10)...Pinned Packers inside their 20 on 4 of 5 punts vs. Green Bay (10/5) on Monday Night Football, holding them to 0 punt return yards on the game.

2008 Recognized by USA Today with a spot on the All-Joe Team, honoring players whose work goes largely unnoticed…Set team records for gross average in a season at 47.6, breaking a team mark that stood since 1964, and set mark for 50-yard punts in a season with 35…Boomed 6 punts of 50+ yards to set single-game Vikings record at Tennessee (9/28) and vs. Detroit (10/12)...Served as the holder for K Ryan Longwell’s team-record-setting 6 FGs of 50+ yards during the season.

2007 Set team records for punts inside the 20 with 34 and booted then-team-record 29 punts of 50+ yards...Had career-best season with a gross average of 44.7 and net average of 37.0, both ranking in the top 5 in Vikings history for a season...Ranked 3rd in the NFL for punts inside the 20 with 34...Tied a team record and set a career high by landing all 5 punts inside the 20 in season opener vs. Atlanta (9/9)...Set a Vikings record for single-game gross punting average at 57.5 yards (4-230 yds) at Detroit (9/16)...Boomed longest punt of career, a 70-yarder, at Kansas City (9/23)...Held on Ryan Longwell’s 55-yard game-winning FG at Chicago (10/14) as time expired, the longest FG of his career and the 2nd-longest overall FG in Vikings history...Completed 1st career pass attempt on a fake FG vs. Detroit (12/2), hitting Jeff Dugan for a 27-yard gain and a 1st down. 

2006 Punted 93 times on the season, a team record…Booted 3 punts of 50+ yards and landed 3 punts inside the 20 vs. Carolina (9/17)…Also flipped the ball on a fake field goal to K Ryan Longwell, who then connected with Richard Owens on a 16-yard TD pass…Punted 4 times and landed all of them inside the 20 at Buffalo (10/1)…Hit 3 punts of 50+ yards on Monday Night Football vs. New England (10/30), including a 61-yarder…Followed that up the next week with 4 punts of 50+ yards vs. Green Bay (11/12) and had a season-best 41.9 net average…Booted 3 punts of 50+ yards at Detroit (12/10)…Posted a career-long 68-yard punt vs. NY Jets (12/17).

2005 Led all NFL rookie punters...Ended rookie season ranked #2 in the NFC and #6 in the NFL with a gross average of 44.1 yards per punt...Boomed 15 punts of 50+ yards on the season with a season-high 3 in the opener vs. Tampa Bay (9/11)...Came on strong in his 1st NFL game vs. Tampa Bay (9/11), booming a season-long 62-yarder and hit 4 punts for a 54.3 gross average and a 42.5 net average, the 2nd-best single-game average in team history (minimum 4 punts) and the best in Vikings history by a rookie...Named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September, the 1st Vikings rookie to ever earn Player of the Month honors...Season-high 8 punts in win at NY Giants (11/16)...Season-high punting yardage came at Chicago (10/16) with 256 yards. 

college One of the top punters in college football as a senior...Selected as a 2004 finalist for the Ray Guy Award, presented to the top college punter...As a senior, had career-high 25 punts inside the opponent’s 20 and averaged 43.4 yards per punt to rank 2nd in the PAC 10 and 14th in the nation...Set UCLA marks as a junior with 91 punts for 3,908 yards.

prep Named to USA Today All-America team as a senior punter...A 1st-Team All-CIF honoree as a junior and senior...Connected on an Orange County and CIF-record 60-yard FG as a senior vs. Loyola...Chosen to play in California-Texas Shrine Game and CaliFlorida Bowl.