Van Leigh Tiffin, Jr. (born August 3, 1988) 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 ...

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

. He was signed by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

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 2010. 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 ...

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 ...

. Named for his father, he is called Leigh to distinguish him from

Van Tiffin Van Leigh Tiffin (born September 6, 1965) is a former American football placekicker. Early life and education Van Leigh Tiffin was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. He lived in Red Bay, Alabama, and attended Red Bay High School, attracting notice fo ...

College career

Tiffin, who wore number 99 for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

, got his chance to kick as a freshman following a

groin In human anatomy, the groin (the adjective is ''inguinal'', as in inguinal canal) is the junctional area (also known as the inguinal region) between the abdomen and the thigh on either side of the pubic bone. This is also known as the medial comp ...

injury to starting kicker Jamie Christensen. Tiffin was a hero, kicking the game-winning 47–yard field goal, in Alabama's 13–10 win over Vanderbilt on September 9, 2006. However, two weeks later against a very strong

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 ...

team, he would miss three field goals in a 24–23 overtime loss, including the game-tying extra point. Christensen returned to the role the following week against

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and except for two extra points against Florida International. Tiffin would be benched for the remainder of the season. In

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, he won the starting placekicking role over Christensen. The highlight of his sophomore year was when he went 4–4 in

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 (39, 51, 29, 50) in a losing effort against

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 ...

. He was only the second kicker in Alabama football history to make two 50+ yard field goals in a game, the other being his father. His four kicks were

's only points of the game. He finished the 2007 season converting all 36 extra point attempts and 25 of 34 field goal attempts. In the 2008

Chick-fil-A College Kickoff The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is an annual series of college football games played on the opening weekend of the NCAA Division I FBS season in Atlanta, Georgia. Organized by the Peach Bowl, the event coincides with Labor Day weekend in the United ...

, Tiffin kicked a 54–yard field goal, his career long, in a 34–10 victory over #9-ranked Clemson. He finished the season with 20 of 29 field goals and a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award. For the 2009 season, he was 30 for 35 on field goal attempts for 87.9 percent. After kicking a field goal against

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

, he became Alabama's all-time leading scorer with 350 points. That year, he was named

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 ...

"Star of the Week" three times and was a finalist for the Groza. In mid-December, Tiffin was named to the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

All-American Team along with five other Crimson Tide players.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Tiffin was given a tryout with the

as an

and agreed to a rookie free agent deal on May 3, 2010. He was waived/injured on May 18 and reverted to

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 th ...

. He was released from injured reserve with an injury settlement on May 26.

Personal life

Tiffin, born in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, is the son of Mia Michelle (née Self) and Van Leigh Tiffin. His father, known as Van, was a former Crimson Tide kicker who was the hero of the 1985

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 ...

against rival

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 ...

. Leigh Tiffin graduated from

Muscle Shoals High School Muscle Shoals High School (MSHS) is the sole public secondary education institution in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. MSHS has been awarded the Blue Ribbon Lighthouse Award for Excellence. Academics Based on the Alabama Reading and Math Test scores ...

. Tiffin married Baylee Ann Ellson. They have a daughter, Ava Bayleigh; their son Van Leigh III was born January 5, 2013.

References

External links

Alabama Crimson Tide football bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiffin, Leigh 1988 births Living people People from Muscle Shoals, Alabama Players of American football from Alabama American football placekickers Alabama Crimson Tide football players Cleveland Browns players