A kickoff specialist is a
special teams
In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
position in
gridiron football. They are responsible for kicking the ball in the
kickoff
Kickoff or kick-off may refer to
* Kick-off (association football)
* Kickoff (gridiron football)
* ''Kick Off'' (series), a series of computer association football games
* ''Kick Off'' (album), a 1985 album by Onyanko Club
* ''Kick Off'' (mag ...
. These players tend to have a strong leg, often capable of making
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 tra ...
s, and capable of keeping a ball in the bounds of the field of play but do not have the accuracy or technique required to be a full-time
placekicker or
punter.
Placekickers usually double their role as kickoff specialists; pure kickoff specialists are now seldomly-used. Some kickoff specialists later become full-time placekickers, while some are marginal placekickers who are soon out of football.
Due to modern roster restrictions (and a 2016 rule change discouraging the kicking of touchbacks by awarding the receiving team possession at the 25-yard line instead of the 20), most NFL teams do not elect to have a kickoff specialist, and instead use their placekickers (or, less often, punters) on kickoffs. The most recent NFL kickoff specialist was
Jordan Gay
Jordan Lane Gay (born March 29, 1990) is a former American football kickoff specialist. He has also been a punter and a kicker. Gay signed with the Carolina Panthers after going undrafted in the 2013 NFL Draft. He has also been a member of the ...
, who played the position for the
Buffalo Bills under special teams coach
Danny Crossman from 2014 to 2016. Prior to Gay's being claimed off waivers, Buffalo's kickoff duties were handled by
Billy Cundiff
William Ambrose Cundiff (born March 30, 1980) is a former American football placekicker. He played college football for Drake University, and was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2002.
College career
Cundiff played for ...
and
John Potter, who likewise were kickoff specialists during their time in Buffalo; for 2017, the team brought in former high school kicking phenom
Austin Rehkow
Austin Rehkow (born March 17, 1995) is an American football punter who is a free agent. He played college football for the Idaho Vandals football team at the University of Idaho.
Early years
Rehkow was raised in Veradale, Washington and attend ...
as a contender for the position but opted not to use a kickoff specialist that year. Other players who have spent at least some time as kickoff specialist for an NFL team since 2006 include
Stephen Hauschka,
Rhys Lloyd,
David Buehler
David Jonathan Buehler (born February 5, 1987) is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He was drafted by the Cowboys in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college foot ...
,
Todd Carter, and
Brandon McManus. As of the end of the 2014 NFL season, punters
Thomas Morstead,
Matt Bosher
Matthew Bosher (born October 18, 1987) is an American football punter who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Miami.
High school caree ...
,
Sam Martin Samuel or Sam Martin may refer to:
* Samuel Martin (planter) (1694–1776), planter and politician in Antigua
* Samuel Martin (Secretary to the Treasury) (1714–1788), British politician and administrator
* Sir Samuel Martin (politician) (1801â ...
,
Pat McAfee, and
Michael Koenen
Michael J. Koenen (born July 13, 1982) is a former American football punter. He was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Western Washington.
Early years
Koenen attended Ferndale High Sc ...
handle kickoffs. There is at least one example of a backup quarterback serving as a kickoff specialist; in 1965,
Bob Timberlake did so for the
New York Giants. In
high school football
High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...
and most other professional leagues, such as the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
and, until recent roster expansions, the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
, one kicker handles all three kicking positions. Even
college football teams usually do not use kickoff specialists, despite the much larger rosters at that level; however, if an underclassman has a stronger leg than the upperclassman kicker, but is not yet ready to assume placekicker or punter duties, they will usually handle kickoff duties while being the primary backup placekicker and punter.
{{American football positions
American football positions
Canadian football terminology