Jonathan Samuel Hilbert (born July 15, 1975) is a former

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

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Sp ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

and

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

. He played college football at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

Early years

Hilbert attended

Boonville High School Boonville High School is a public high school located in Boonville, Indiana. The school is one of three high schools in Warrick County, that make up the Warrick County School Corporation. About Boonville High School, Warrick County's oldest high ...

Boonville, Indiana Boonville is a city in Boon Township, Warrick County, Indiana, United States. The population was 6,246 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Warrick County. History Boonville was founded in 1818 and named for Jesse Boon, father o ...

. As a senior, he averaged 43.9 yards-per-punt, receiving All-state, All-conference and All-area honors.

College career

Hilbert accepted a football scholarship from the

. After not seeing action in 1994, he spent the 1995 season rehabilitating a knee injury. As a freshman in 1996, he made his only extra point attempt, while being a backup behind

David Akers David Roy Akers (; born December 9, 1974) is an American former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He began his career in 1998 with the Washington Red ...

. As a sophomore, he was named the starter at

after Akers graduated, making 6-of-7 field goal attempts and 23-of-24 extra point attempts. As a junior, he set a school record by making 50 extra point attempts, while connecting on 5-of-8 field goal attempts and scoring 65 points (third on the team). As a senior, he made 11-of-18 field goals and 40-of-43 extra points, finishing with 73 points (second on the team).

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys (first stint)

Hilbert was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

after the

2000 NFL Draft The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Th ...

on April 17. He was released in July.

Buffalo Bills

On July 31,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, he signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

. On August 21, after not being able to pass incumbent

Steve Christie Geoffrey Stephen Christie (born November 13, 1967) is a former Canadian American football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL), who, as a member of the Buffalo Bills, became known for his ability to kick clutch field goals, even in p ...

on the depth chart.

New Orleans Saints

On March 28,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

, he was signed as a

by 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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. On August 28, he was released after losing the kicking competition against John Carney.

Dallas Cowboys (second stint)

On November 13,

, Hilbert was signed by the

. He kicked in eight games while replacing an injured

Tim Seder Timothy R. Seder (born September 17, 1974) is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, and Jacksonville Jaguars. He played college football at Ashland University. Earl ...

, who was out for the season. He wasn't re-signed at the end of the year.

Chicago Bears

On March, 14,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...

, he was signed by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

, but was released on August 25, when they decided to keep incumbent

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

Paul Edinger Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

Carolina Panthers

On September 19,

, the

signed Hilbert to their practice squad. He was later elevated to the active roster after they lost starting

John Kasay John David Kasay (born October 27, 1969) is a former American football kicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He played college football at Georgia and was selected by the S ...

due to hernia surgery. After missing two field goals in a game versus the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansio ...

and not kicking well in practice, Hilbert was replaced by

Shayne Graham Michael Shayne Graham (born December 9, 1977) is an American football coach and former placekicker. Graham played 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech. He made his professional debut in ...

and waived on September 27.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilbert, Jon 1975 births Living people People from Boonville, Indiana Players of American football from Indiana American football placekickers Louisville Cardinals football players Dallas Cowboys players Carolina Panthers players