Daniel Sepulveda

Daniel Sepulveda

Daniel Sepulveda at the Steelers 2007 training camp
No. 9     Pittsburgh Steelers
Punter
Personal information
Date of birth: January 12, 1984 (1984-01-12) (age 27)
Place of birth: Austin, Texas
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Weight: 230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
College: Baylor
NFL Draft: 2007 / Round: 4 / Pick: 112
Debuted in 2007 for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Career history
Pittsburgh Steelers (2007–Present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
4x All-Big 12 (2003-2006) 3x AP All-American (2004-2006) 2x Ray Guy Award (2004, 2006) Joe Greene Great Performance Award (2007) Super Bowl Champion (XLIII)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 7, 2011
Punts	220
Punt Yards	8,421
Punting Yard Average	43.8
Stats at NFL.com

Daniel Wade Sepulveda (born January 12, 1984 in Austin, Texas) is an American football punter for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Baylor. He is the only two-time Ray Guy Award winner.

College career

He was an All-American at Baylor University. He was a walk-on to the football team as a linebacker, and after a redshirt freshman season (despite not having punted since junior high) became the Bears' starting punter, earning a scholarship after the 2003 season. He won the Ray Guy Award in 2004 and 2006 as well as being a three time All American team member (3rd in 2004, 2nd in 2005, 1st in 2006). He is the only punter to win the Ray Guy Award twice.

Professional career

Pittsburgh Steelers

Sepulveda was drafted in the fourth round by the Steelers in the 2007 NFL Draft. After the release of former starter Chris Gardocki, Sepulveda successfully bested Mike Barr for the starting job. Sepulveda signed a three year contract for $1.46 million with the Steelers on May 31, 2007. He was given the nickname, "Spatula", by fans.^[1]

In the first quarter of a December 20 game against the St. Louis Rams his rookie season, Sepulveda completed a 32-yard pass to running back Najeh Davenport on a fake punt play.

On July 29, 2008, Sepulveda tore the ACL in his right leg for the second time.^[2][3] He had surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament on August 6.^[4] He was placed on injured reserve by the Steelers after the surgery,^[5][6] officially ending his season.^[7]

On December 5, 2010, he again injured his right knee in a game against the Baltimore Ravens.^[8] Jeremy Kapinos was signed to replace Sepulveda. On July 31st, 2011, the Steelers re-signed Sepulveda to a 1 year deal.^[9]

In the second quarter of a October 9th, 2011 game against the Tennessee Titans Sepulveda completed his second career pass for a first down, a 33-yard pass to Ryan Mundy on a fake punt play.

References

1. ^ "Daniel Sepulveda". Maholo. 2007. http://www.mahalo.com/daniel-sepulveda. Retrieved 2009-08-12. 
2. ^ "Steelers' Sepulveda likely lost for the season". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. 2008-07-29. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_580044.html. Retrieved 2008-07-30. 
3. ^ Bouchette, Ed (2008-07-30). "Torn ACL in right knee will keep left-footed punter out entire season". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08212/900451-66.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
4. ^ Associated Press (2008-07-31). "Sepulveda's Knee Surgery Scheduled For August". Steelers (KDKA). http://kdka.com/steelers/Steelers.Sepulveda.surgery.2.784724.html. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
5. ^ Fittipaldo, Ray (2008-08-25). "Steelers name Hartwig starting center, make first cuts". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08238/906879-66.stm?cmpid=sports.xml. Retrieved 2008-08-25. 
6. ^ Brown, Scott (2008-08-25). "Steelers cut Bloom, place Sepulveda on IR". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_584805.html?source=rss&feed=1. Retrieved 2008-08-25. 
7. ^ "Steelers place P Sepulveda om IR". Yahoo! Sports. 2008-08-25. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=txsteelerssepulveda&prov=st&type=lgns. Retrieved 2008-08-25. 
8. ^ Steelers.com
9. ^ Steelers, Sepulveda agree to deal

External links

• Baylor Bears bio
• Pittsburgh Steelers bio

Preceded by B.J. Sander	Ray Guy Award Winners 2004	Succeeded by Ryan Plackemeier
Preceded by Ryan Plackemeier	Ray Guy Award Winners 2006	Succeeded by Durant Brooks

Persondata
Name	Sepulveda, Daniel
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 12, 1984
Place of birth	Austin, Texas
Date of death
Place of death