Kyle Larson (born September 2, 1980) is a former

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 ...

punter. He was signed by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

in 2004. 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 ...

University of Nebraska - Lincoln A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

Early years

Larson attended

Kearney High School Kearney High School is a public high school in Kearney, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Kearney Public Schools district. It is one of two high schools in Kearney (the other being Kearney Catholic High School). Buildings The original ...

Kearney, Nebraska Kearney is the county seat of Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 30,787 in the 2010 census. It is home to the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The westward push of the railroad as the Civil War ended gave new birt ...

, but is a native of

Funk, Nebraska Funk is a village in Phelps County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 194 at the 2010 census. History Funk was platted in 1887 on the railroad. It was named for Phillip C. Funk, an early settler. 1925 editionis available for download a ...

. He saw action at

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

, and punter, and as a senior, he won All-State honors at punter after averaging 46.5 yards per punt. In addition to

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, Larson competed in

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

. Larson was a member of Kearney High's 1999 Class A State Championship team where he placed 2nd in discus and 3rd in

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

at the Nebraska State Track Meet.

College career

Larson was a

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music * ''Walk On'', a 1994 album by Boston, and its title song Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album), 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album), 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album), 1992 *''Walk On'', a 2007 album by ...

at the

. Following a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

season in 1999, he backed up starter Dan Hadenfeldt in 2000. He then started from 2001–2003. Larson played in the 2002 BCS National Championship Game vs. the Miami Hurricanes, and helped Nebraska beat Michigan State in the 2003 Alamo Bowl. He was a semifinalist for the

Ray Guy Award The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding punter as adjudged by the Augusta Sports Council. The award is named after punter Ray Guy, an All-American for Southern Mississippi and an All-Pro in the National Foo ...

his junior year, and finalist his senior year, as well as being named an All-American by the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

. He benched 405 pounds his senior year and hang cleaned 458. As a senior in 2003, Larson set the

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

record with a 45.1-yard avg. on 66 punts, the record would later be broken by

Sam Koch Samuel David Koch ( ; born August 13, 1982) is a former American football punter who played for the Baltimore Ravens for his entire 16-year career in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Ravens in the sixth round of the 20 ...

. Larson also earned All-Big 12 honors. He graduated with a degree in business administration.

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

Larson was signed by the

as a college free agent on April 27, 2004. He made his NFL debut at the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

on September 12. In his opening season he averaged 42.2 yards from 83 punts and even scored a touchdown from a fake field goal attempt at the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

on December 12. He was part of the Bengals turn around, helping them get their first winning season in 15 years, by becoming the

AFC North The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was adopted after the restructuring of the 2002 NFL s ...

Champions in 2005. Larson played in the AFC Wild-Card Playoff Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on January 8, 2006. He played in every game in his 5 seasons with the Bengals. Larson was waived on April 28, 2009.

Personal

Kyle and his wife Lindsay have 4 sons. He holds a degree in business administration from University of Nebraska- Lincoln, and during his college career he was three-time member of Big 12 Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll. Hobbies include working on his family's farm in Nebraska as well as hunting and fishing. Kyle was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bengals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Kyle 1980 births Living people Players of American football from Nebraska American football punters Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Cincinnati Bengals players People from Kearney, Nebraska