Ricky William Schmitt (born August 17, 1985) is a former

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

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

. He was signed by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

in 2007. 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 ...

Shepherd University Shepherd University is a public university in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, United States. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In the fall of 2023, the university enrolled 3,274 ...

. Schmitt was also a member of the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

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 ...

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

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 ...

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

, and

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

Early years

Schmitt graduated from Salem High School in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

in 2003, but did not play

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 ...

until his senior year. A four-year varsity

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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 ...

, Schmitt only went out for football due to the Sun Devils' need for a kicker. He was named an all-Beach District punter/kicker his senior year. He also played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. Schmitt was offered a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

to play

for

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

College career

Schmitt played

, a Division II school in

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. He was one of the premier punters/kickers in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

. In

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

he would have been among the leaders of all divisions in punting statistics however his offense only allowed him to punt 41 times (not enough to qualify for the leaders). In spring testing Schmitt was one of the fastest members of the Shepherd University squad recording

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

times in the 4.4’s. He is a three-time first team All- WVIAC selection as a punter and a two-time first team selection as a kicker. 2006 Daktronics Division II First Team All-Northeast Region selection and a 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 ...

in 2006. Additionally Schmitt holds virtually all Shepherd kicking records including: *All-time leader in career field goals (33) *Most extra points in a career (151) *Most extra points in a season (50-54, 2005) *Most kick scoring points in a season (80, 2005) *Most consecutive extra points in a career (60) *Most consecutive extra points in a season (43) *2006 Single-season extra point percentage (100% 43-43) *Career extra point percentage (.926 - 151-163) *WVIAC Record in 2006 Schmitt punted 41 times for a 44 average, with a long of 77, and 22 punts inside the 20 in 2006. A master of directional punts, with a 5 sec. hangtime only 17 of his punts were returned. He had eighteen kickoffs for touchbacks.

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Schmitt was signed as an

by the

following 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 ...

. He was cut on August 27. During the Cardinals preseason, Ricky punted 3 times for 114 yards, for an average of 38 yards.

First stint with 49ers

Schmitt signed with the

on January 15, 2008. He was cut on August 30. During the 49ers preseason, Ricky kicked off twice with both going for

touchback In American football, a touchback is a ruling that is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead on or behind a team's own goal line (i.e., in their end zone) and the opposing team gave the ball the momentum, or impetus, to travel ...

s, punted 3 times for 131.1 yards, with 2 landing inside the 20 and a long of 54, for an average of 43.7 yards, and went 3 for 4 on field goals.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Schmitt was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

on October 28, 2008. He was released on November 1.

Oakland Raiders

Schmitt was signed to the

of the

on December 15, 2008. On December 30, he signed a two-year contract with the Raiders. He was cut on September 5, 2009. During the Raiders preseason, Ricky punted 18 times for 729 yards, with 5 landing inside the 20, for an average of 40.5 yards, and went 6 for 6 on extra points.

Second stint with 49ers

Schmitt re-signed with the

on December 22, 2009. In his first regular season game against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

on December 27, Ricky kicked off 5 times for 325 yards with 1 touchback, for an average of 65 yards, and also went 2 for 3 on field goals (1blocked) and 2 for 2 on extra points. 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 ...

with a groin injury on January 2, 2010. On March 5, he became a free agent.

Tennessee Titans

Schmitt was signed by the

on March 15, 2010. He was cut on August 31. During the Titans preseason, Ricky kicked off 3 times for 205 yards with 2 touchbacks, for an average of 68.3 yards, and punted 2 times for 110 yards, with 1 landing inside the 20 and a long of 65, for an average of 55 yards. He did not attempt any field goals or extra points.

San Diego Chargers

Schmitt was signed by the

on January 20, 2011. He was cut on September 3. During the Chargers preseason, Ricky kicked off 14 times for 830 yards, with 8 touchbacks and 1 landing out of bounds, for an average of 59.3 yards, and punted 5 times for 215 yards, with 1 landing inside the 20 and a long of 50, for an average of 43 yards. He did not attempt any field goals or extra points.

Second stint with Cardinals

Schmitt re-signed with the

on May 14, 2012. He was cut on August 24. During the Cardinals preseason, Ricky kicked off 5 times for 339 yards with 2 touchbacks, for an average of 67.8 yards, and punted 12 times for 537 yards, with 3 landing inside the 20 and a long of 56, for an average of 44.8 yards. He did not attempt any field goals or extra points.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Schmitt was signed by the

on November 2, 2012. He played in the first round of the CFL playoffs. Saskatchewan lost to Calgary 36-30. During the 2013 CFL season, Schmitt punted 136 times for 6114 yards, for an average of 45 yards. He had a long of 74. Schmitt won the

101st Grey Cup The 101st Grey Cup was a Canadian football game played between the East Division champion Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the West Division champion Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League to decide the Grey Cup champions of the 2013 ...

with the Roughriders in 2013. In 2014, Schmitt became a free agent.

BC Lions

On February 20, 2014, Schmitt signed with the

After playing one season for the Lions, the option year on his contract was not picked up and he became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

References

External links

Arizona Cardinals bio

Tennessee Titans bioSan Francisco 49ers bio

BC Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmitt, Ricky 1985 births Living people Players of American football from Virginia Beach, Virginia American football punters American football placekickers Canadian football punters Players of Canadian football from Virginia Shepherd Rams football players Arizona Cardinals players San Francisco 49ers players Pittsburgh Steelers players Oakland Raiders players Tennessee Titans players San Diego Chargers players Saskatchewan Roughriders players BC Lions players