Anders Bjorn Carlson (born June 16, 1998) is an

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 with ...

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. Spe ...

for the

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 club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

of 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 ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

. As a placekicker, he has been recognized as both a high school and collegiate All-American, as well as an

All-Southeastern Conference The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: * 1 ...

( SEC) First Team and

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 Sports Commission. The award is named after former Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns player Lou Groza. It has be ...

semifinalist selection.

Early years

Carlson attended and played football,

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, and

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 (appr ...

at The Classical Academy (Titans) in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

. In 2014, as a sophomore, he made four of six

field goal 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. The entire ba ...

attempts with a long of 44 yards, as well as nine out of 10 extra-point attempts (PATs). In 2015, as a junior, he made 11 of 18 field goal attempts with a long of 52 yards, and 37 of 38 PATs. In 2016, as a senior, he made 13 of 23 field goal attempts, including a long of 51 yards, and all 49 of his PATs. Carlson was invited to and played in the 2017

Under Armour All-America Game The Under Armour High School All-America Game is a high school football all-star game typically held in early January in the U.S. state of Florida created to spotlight the nation’s top high school seniors. The game was first played on January 5, ...

. A three-star college prospect was the highest-rated prep kicker recruit in the nation coming out of high school.

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

rated him a top-10 overall recruit prospect in the state of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. He committed to play

for the Auburn Tigers over scholarship offers from

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

and Vanderbilt. As a soccer player, Carlson helped the Titans to the 2014 and 2015 Class 4A State finals.

College career

2017 season

In 2017, Carlson

redshirted 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 ...

his true freshman football season at

as he served as the backup placekicker to his older brother,

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

2018 season

In 2018, prior to his redshirt freshman, Carlson gained attention after kicking a 62-yard field goal at Auburn's practice facility. That season, he successfully converted 15 of 25 field goal attempts, including two 53-yard field goals, which were the second-longest field goals made in Auburn program history by a freshman. He also converted all 44 PATs, including going 9-for-9 in the

2018 Music City Bowl The 2018 Music City Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 28, 2018 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. It was the 21st edition of the Music City Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS footba ...

against

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

. He further forced 51

touchback In American football, a touchback is a ruling which 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 trav ...

s on 70 total kickoffs. On November 24, 2018, against in-state rival

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, he recorded his first and only career reception, a 3-yard catch on a fake field goal play.

2019 season

In 2019, Carlson entered his redshirt sophomore season as an SEC Media Preseason All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) Second Team and SEC Coaches Preseason All-SEC Third Team placekicker. He earned SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after making all four of his field goal attempts – from 43 (twice), 44, and 52 yards – in

’s 48–45 upset win over

in the “

Iron Bowl The Alabama–Auburn football rivalry, better known as the Iron Bowl, is an American college football rivalry game between the Auburn University Tigers and University of Alabama Crimson Tide, both charter members of the Southeastern Conferenc ...

.” His 52-yard field goal attempt against Alabama tied his brother, Daniel, and

Al Del Greco Albert Louis Del Greco (born March 2, 1962) is a former American football placekicker and a current sports radio personality. After eight years as golf coach at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Alabama, Del Greco was named the head coach of the ...

, for Auburn’s longest field goal ever in Iron Bowl history. His third PAT made against

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

set an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

record for consecutive successful PATs (303) by Auburn kickers; a streak started by former Auburn kicker,

Cody Parkey Cody Parkey (born February 19, 1992) is an American football placekicker who is a free agent. He played college football at Auburn and was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He has also been a member of the Phi ...

, in 2013 and that spanned six seasons, 78 games, and five different Auburn kickers. He finished his 2019 campaign by making 18 out of 25 field goal attempts and 48 out of 49 PATs, as well as 47 touchbacks on 78 kickoffs.

2020 season

In 2020, entering his redshirt junior season, Carlson was selected to the SEC Media Preseason All-SEC Third Team and the

Phil Steele Phil Steele (c. 1960) is an American sportswriter and analyst who focuses exclusively on college and professional football. He is considered a "highly respected prognosticator" within the sports media. His company, Phil Steele Publications, prod ...

All-SEC Fourth Team. That season, he made 20 out of 22 field goal attempts, including a long of 50 yards, and 24 out of 25 PATs. He was twice selected to the

Lou Groza Louis Roy Groza (January 25, 1924 – November 29, 2000), nicknamed "the Toe", was an American professional football player who was a placekicker and offensive tackle while playing his entire career for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America F ...

“Star of the Week” list for his kicking efforts against

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 adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...

. His 2020 season performance earned him

(best placekicker in college football) semifinalist, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) FBS Coaches’

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

Second Team, Phil Steele All-America Honorable Mention, and Associated Press (AP) All-SEC First Team honors.

2021 season

In 2021, as a redshirt senior, he made 14 of 21 field goal attempts with a long of 49 yards, as well as 35 of 36 PATs. On November 13, in

’s game against

, he suffered a season-ending

torn ACL An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

. Carlson’s career performance places him with the fifth-most points (275), third-most field goals made (53), and sixth-most PATs made (116) in Auburn program history. Carlson earned Special Teams MVP honors for Auburn’s 2018, 2019, and 2021 “A-Day” spring football games. Auburn's 2020 A-Day was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Professional career

Carlson was drafted by the

in the sixth round (207th overall) of the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29, ...

. He signed his rookie contract on May 5. In his rookie season, Carlson led the NFL in missed kicks with thirteen. In the Divisional Round playoff game against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-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 of the league's National ...

, Carlson missed a field goal which would have given the Packers a seven point lead and forced the 49ers to tie the game rather than take the lead. The Packers would end up losing 24–21, ending their season. Head coach

Matt LaFleur Matthew Patrick LaFleur ( ; born November 3, 1979) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He has served as the quarterback coach of the Washington Redskins, Notre Dame ...

and Carlson's Packer teammates came out in support of Carlson, with LaFleur stating that Carlson's missed kick was not the sole reason for the loss. On January 24, 2024, the Packers signed Jack Podlesny to compete with Carlson.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Personal life

Carlson was born to parents, Jodie and Hans, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He has two brothers, Nils and Daniel. Daniel Carlson is the placekicker for the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

of the

National Football League (NFL) 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 ...

and was also an

n kicker at Auburn. In 2017, as a freshman at Auburn, he earned Academic Top Tiger and SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll recognition. In both 2018 and 2019, he earned AD Honor Roll honors. He earned SEC Academic Honor Roll recognition every year from 2018 to 2020. In both 2019 and 2020, he earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors. In 2020, he graduated from Auburn with a degree in

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

from the university's College of Business. He is now pursuing his master's degree. Carlson is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. He has said, “I think the biggest thing for me is just knowing my identity. I think for me, faith is a really big thing. My current thing I’m doing is football, but that’s not who I am. I’m just focused on the things I can control, but knowing my identity is not in football, it’s in God.”

References

External links

Green Bay Packers bioAuburn Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlson, Anders Auburn Tigers football players American football placekickers Players of American football from Colorado Springs, Colorado 1998 births Living people Green Bay Packers players Under Armour All-American football players