Erik Folk (born January 26, 1989) is a former

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

college football placekicker who played for the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

. He is most remembered for kicking game-winning field goals to beat USC in 2009 and 2010. He went undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft, and was signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Falcons before being released during the preseason.

High school

Folk helped Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High School to an 11-1 record and a Serra League championship as a senior in 2006. The team finished the regular season 10-0 before beating Dana Hills, 45-10, in the first round of the playoffs, subsequently lost to

Long Beach Poly Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

, 31-21, the following week. Folk's team finished as the No. 6 team in the state, according to MaxPreps. '' Los Angeles Daily News'' second-team all-area kicker and other awards and accomplishments including, CalHiSports all-state third-team, PrepStar all-region selection, booted 53-of-53 PATs and seven field goals as a senior, kicked a 56-yarder vs. Birmingham High in 2006. He also kicked a 50-yarder vs. Canyon, the Knights spent part of 2005 season ranked No. 1 in the state before falling to Dominguez in the

CIF Southern Section The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF ...

Western Division final.

College

During the 2009 season, it was Folk’s 22-yarder with three seconds to play that made the difference in a 16-13 upset win over No. 3 USC. Folk repeated his last-second heroics against No. 18 USC the following year, hitting a 32-yard game-winning field goal. He was named Pac-10 Special Teams player of the week on October 4, 2010.

Professional career

On June 18, 2012, Folk was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Atlanta Falcons. in 2012, but was released before the regular season.

Personal

Folk was born to Anton and Kathryn Folk. He is the younger brother of New England Patriots kicker

Nick Folk Nicholas Alexander Folk (born Niklaus Aleksandre Faulke, November 5, 1984) is an American football placekicker for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona, where he received first-tea ...

, who was a first-team All- Pac-10 punter in 2006. He also has another brother, Greg Folk, who played soccer at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

References

External links