Micah J. Knorr (born January 9, 1975) 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 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 ...

by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

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 ...

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

Early life

Knorr attended Orange High School in

Orange, California Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before ...

, and was a two-time All-

CIF Cif is a French brand of household cleaning products owned by the Anglo-Dutch company Unilever, known as Jif in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Middle East and the Nordic countries. Cif was launched in France in 1965 and was marketed in competit ...

selection. He finished his high school career with 81 points, and as a senior, averaged 42 yards per punt. He moved on to play for

where he was a four-year starter at

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 ...

. As a junior, he earned All-

Big West The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

honors after making 12-of-19 field goals (tying for the league lead). The next year, he received second-team All-Big West honors after making 12-of-21 field goals and 36-of-47 extra points. He finished his collegiate career with a school record of 39 field goals made.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

After being out of football for three years, Knorr was signed by the

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 ...

after the

2000 NFL Draft The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Thea ...

. He made the team because the team not only because they valued his punting skills, but he also won 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'' (magaz ...

and holder specialist roles. As a rookie, he was third in the NFC with a 43.7 punting average, before suffering a hairline fracture in his lower left leg against 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 ...

, that forced him to miss two games. He finished the season fourth in the

NFC NFC may refer to: Psychology * Need for cognition, in psychology * Need for closure, social psychological term Sports * NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game * NCAA Football Championship (Philippines) * Nati ...

and 11th in the

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 major ...

, with a franchise rookie record of 42.8 gross punting average. His net punting average of 35.8 was fifth best in the

, tied for 14th in the

and was the fourth highest rookie mark in team history. His 17.5 touchback percentage on kickoffs was the second highest percentage in the league. In

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, he struggled averaging 40.2 yards per punt, but downed 25 punts inside the 20-yard line, tying for the fifth most in team history. He had greater success on kickoffs, averaging 65.8 yards, with the opponent's average starting position being the 26.8-yard line (ninth in the

and tying for 12th in the

). His best performances was when he punted 5 times for 215 yards (43.0 yards per punt average) on October 28 against

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, and on November 22 against Denver, when he punted 8 times for 364 yards (45.5 yards per punt avg). He was waived on October, 22,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, after making a series of mistakes in critical games.

Denver Broncos (first stint)

Knorr was signed as

by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

on October 30,

, after the team released punter

Tom Rouen Thomas Francis Rouen (born June 9, 1968) is a former American football punter who was the long-time punter for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. Early life Rouen attended Heritage High School in Littleton, Colorado, where h ...

. Knorr played in eight games, tying for fifth in the AFC in touchbacks (7). He punted 24 times for 906 yds. (37.8 average). In

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, Knorr ranked fourth in the AFC (7th NFL) in punting average (43.2 yards) and helped lead his team to the AFC wild card game. His best performances were on September 7 against the

when he punted 5 times for 235 yards (47.0 yards avg.) and on December 28 against 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 ...

, when he punted seven times for 297 yards (43.2 yards avg.). During the course of the season, he added two

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 ...

tackles and was named as an AFC

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

Alternate. Knorr was waived by the team on December 9,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, after ranking 21st in the league in gross punting average (41.5 yards) and being last in net average (34.2 yards) for the season.

New York Jets

On January 25,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, he was signed by 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 ...

. He was waived by the team on August 27.

Carolina Panthers

On March 10,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, he was signed by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. He was released by the team on June 20.

Denver Broncos (second stint)

The

signed on July 27,

. He would later be released on September 2,

, when the team acquired

Todd Sauerbrun Todd Scott Sauerbrun (; born January 4, 1973) is a former American college and professional American football, football player who was a punter (American football), punter in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons. He played col ...

Detroit Lions

Knorr tried out for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

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 ...

after turning down a job as a middle school history teacher. He was released by the team on September 1.

Personal life

Knorr served as a teacher and football coach at Central High School in Barstow, California. He was featured in the book '' A Few Seconds of Panic''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knorr, Mikah 1975 births Living people Sportspeople from Orange, California Players of American football from California American football punters Utah State Aggies football players Dallas Cowboys players Denver Broncos players