Cole Tracy (born May 2, 1996) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

. He played

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for

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and

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, and was named second-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Early life and education

Tracy was born on May 2, 1996, in

Camarillo, California Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan and ...

. He attended

Newbury Park High School Newbury Park High School, opened in 1967, is a co-educational public high school located in Newbury Park, California. Academics The school is one of two International Baccalaureate schools in Ventura County, the other being Rio Mesa High Schoo ...

, playing

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and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, starting three years in football. Following high school Tracy went to Assumption University in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

, redshirting as a true freshman. As a redshirt-freshman the following year, Tracy led Division II kickers with 117 points that included 22 field goals made, 51-of-53 extra-point chances and a season-long field goal of 52 yards. He was 22-for-26 in field goal attempts, earning a second-team All-American award from D2football.com. On September 12, against

LIU Post LIU Post, formally the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University and often referred to as C.W. Post, is a private university in Brookville, New York, on Long Island. It is part of Long Island University (LIU), and the largest school in the ...

, Tracy went a perfect 6-for-6 on field goal attempts. As a sophomore, Tracy played in 12 games, making 19 out of 29 field goal attempts, 49 out of 51 extra point attempts, and earning the Steve "Merc" Morris All-Star Special Teams player of the Year award. He tied a Division II record with six made field goals against St. Anselm, becoming one of two players in any division to have two 6+ field goal games. As a junior, he won the Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place Kicker Award, given to the best placekicker below the Division I-FBS level. He was 27-of-29 field goals and made all 67 extra-point attempts to finish with a school record in points scored, with 148. He transferred to

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

(LSU) as a senior, and was a finalist for the

Lou Groza Award The Lou Groza Award is presented annually to the top college football placekicker in the United States by the Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County Sports Commission. The award is named after former Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns ...

, given to the nation's best placekicker. Tracy was a second-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

selection from ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'',

Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American college football player and coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage a ...

, Football Writer's Association, and the American Football Coaches Association. He was also first-team All-SEC from both ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

'' and the conference's coaches. He was named player of the week after games against

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, Auburn,

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and

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

. He converted on 29 of 33 field goals and all 42 of his extra point attempts. Tracy ended his college career as one of the most prolific kickers in NCAA history, making 97 total field goals and scoring 502 total points.

Professional career

After his college career Tracy had several tryouts in the

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(NFL), including with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

, and

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

. He was signed by the

Seattle Dragons The Seattle Sea Dragons were a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. The Sea Dragons competed in the second incarnation of the XFL (2020), XFL. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment as the Seat ...

of the XFL in December 2019, to play in the 2020 season, but was released before the season started.

Early life and education

Professional career

References

Further reading