Hunter Lawrence (born June 28, 1988) 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 ...

. Lawrence tried out for the job of

for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

. 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 ...

at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

Early life

Lawrence attended

Boerne High School Boerne High School is a public high school located in the hill country just 30 miles northwest of San Antonio in Boerne, Texas, USA. The high school used to be the only high school in Boerne which now has a second high school, Boerne Samuel ...

Boerne, Texas Boerne ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Kendall County, Texas, United States, in the Texas Hill Country. Boerne is known for its German-Texan history, named in honor of German author and satirist Ludwig Börne by the German Founders of the ...

, where he was coached by Tommy Bludau. As a junior, he made 20 out of 25

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, a ...

with a long of 48 yards with 2 being blocked, he also made 44 out of 46

point after touchdown The conversion, try (American football), also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, extra point, two-point conversion, or convert (Canadian football) is a gridiron football play that occurs immediately after a touchdown. The scoring team att ...

s, which earned him first-team 4A all-state by the

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 Texas Sports Writers Association. He notably made four field goals during a playoff win over

New Braunfels High School New Braunfels High School (commonly referred to as NBHS) is a public high school in New Braunfels, Texas, United States, that was established in 1845. In 2022, the school was given an overall rating of a B by the Texas Education Agency. Academic ...

. As a senior Lawrence made 12 out of 19 FGs with 7 longer than 40 yards and long of 49 yards with 2 being blocked. He also made 43 out of 45 PATs which earned first team 4A all state by the Associated Press and second team by the Texas Sports Writers Association. Over his high school career, Lawrence made 32 of 44 FGs (.727) and 63 of 70 PATs (.900). Lawrence was considered the number three kicker in the nation in the recruiting class of 2006 and garnered three stars from

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

and Rivals.com when he was recruited by the Longhorns (primarily for kickoffs due to his strong leg).

College career

During his freshman year in 2006, Lawrence began handling the kickoff duties mid season and continued to do so as a sophomore in 2007. When he became a junior in 2008, Lawrence earned his spot as the field goal kicker for the Longhorns which he continued in his 2009 senior season as well. His most notable kick came during the

2009 Big 12 Championship Game The 2009 Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship Game was held on December 5, 2009, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The divisional winners from the Big 12 Conference squared off in the 14th edition of the game. The Texas Longhorns represented the ...

against the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...

. In the fourth quarter with one second put back on the clock, Nebraska held a 12–10 lead over Texas. Coach

Mack Brown William Mack Brown (born August 27, 1951) is an American former college football coach. Brown most recently coached at the University of North Carolina, where he had two stints, first from 1988 until 1997, and again from 2019 until his firing ...

sent Lawrence out on the field to attempt the game winning kick after an official review put 1 second back on the clock. From 46 yards out Lawrence hit the field goal as time expired, winning the game 13–12, thus securing the Longhorns' third Big 12 Championship, as well as a

BCS National Championship Game The BCS National Championship Game was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college football season as one of four des ...

berth.

Professional career

2010 NFL Draft

Even though no kickers were selected in the

2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...

, Lawrence was quickly contacted by the

and signed after a brief tryout. The Buccaneers only had one kicker that they had just picked up in 2009. On August 24, 2010, the Buccaneers released Lawrence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Hunter 1988 births Living people Players of American football from San Antonio Players of American football from New Braunfels, Texas American football placekickers Texas Longhorns football players Sportspeople from Boerne, Texas