Daniel Wade Sepulveda (born January 12, 1984) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a punter for five seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL), all with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Baylor Bears The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only three private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior t ...

, where he won twice the

Ray Guy Award The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding punter as adjudged by the Augusta Sports Council. The award is named after punter Ray Guy, an All-American for Southern Mississippi and an All-Pro in the National Fo ...

and earned

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 ...

honors. He was selected by the Steelers in the fourth round of the

2007 NFL draft The 2007 NFL draft was the 72nd annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draf ...

Early life

Sepulveda, who is of Mexican–American descent, was born in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

. He attended Highland Park High School in metropolitan

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. Sepulveda was a fourth-string punter at Highland Park behind Ryan Wolcott (the kicker), Jason Wood (the backup), and Trey Warren (the starter). He never made it into a game as a punter.

College career

Sepulveda attended

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

, where he played for the

Baylor Bears football The Baylor Bears football team represents Baylor University in Division I (NCAA)#Football Bowl Subdivision, Division I FBS college football. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. After 64 seasons at the off-campus Baylor Stadium, renamed F ...

team from 2002 to 2006. He was a

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album) or the title song, 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album) or the title song, 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album) or the title song, 1992 *''Walk On'', by Kellie Coffey, 200 ...

to the football team as a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

, and after a

redshirt freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

season (despite not having punted since

junior high Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

) became the Bears' starting punter, earning a scholarship after the 2003 season. He won the

tapping him as the best college punter in 2004 and 2006, and was recognized as a consensus first-team

in 2004 and a unanimous first-team All-American in 2006. He, Ryan Allen and Tom Hackett are the only players to win the Ray Guy Award twice. As of the end of the 2017 season, Sepulveda holds the NCAA FBS record for career punting average and career punts of 50+ yards.

Professional career

Sepulveda was selected in the fourth round (112th pick) by the

in the

. 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. In the first quarter of a December 20 game against the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

, in his rookie season, Sepulveda completed a 32-yard pass to running back

Najeh Davenport Najeh Trenadious Monté Davenport (born February 8, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes and was selected by the Gre ...

on a fake punt play. On July 29, 2008, Sepulveda tore the ACL in his right leg for the second time. He had surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament on August 6. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

by the Steelers after the surgery, officially ending his season. On December 5, 2010, he again injured his right knee in a game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Jeremy Kapinos Jeremy D. Kapinos (born August 23, 1984) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a Punter (American football), punter in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nitt ...

was signed to replace Sepulveda. On July 31, 2011, the Steelers re-signed Sepulveda to a 1-year deal. In the second quarter of an October 9, 2011, game against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

Sepulveda completed his second career pass for a first down, a 33-yard pass to

Ryan Mundy Ryan Gregory Mundy (born February 11, 1985) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a Safety (American football position), safety for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by h ...

on a fake punt play. Sepulveda finished his career with a completion percentage of 100%: 2 for 2. It was announced on April 4, 2012, that Sepulveda would not return to the Steelers for the 2012 season.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Post-football career

Sepulveda enrolled at the

SMU Dedman School of Law SMU Dedman School of Law, commonly referred to as SMU Law School or Dedman School of Law, is a law school located in Dallas, Texas. Jason P. Nance serves as its current dean. Founded in February 1925, the school located is on the Southern Meth ...

as part of its 2019 graduating class. In 2023, he joined as an attorney the brand new, Dallas-based law firm Campbell Miller Payne as a charter member. He previously worked as a corporate finance lawyer for Norton Rose Fulbright.

References

External links

Baylor Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sepulveda, Daniel 1984 births Living people All-American college football players American football punters Baylor Bears football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Austin, Texas American sportspeople of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American players of American football