Shane Andrus (born October 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 ...

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 ...

. He was signed by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

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 2006. 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 ...

Murray State Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, ...

. Andrus has also been a member of the

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

and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

Early years

Andrus attended Murray High School where he played competitive football and baseball. In football, Andrus was an all-state selection as a

and punter, 1st team all region as a wide receiver and defensive back and he gained over 1,700 yards and scored 18 touchdowns in 2 years playing. In baseball, Andrus was an all-state performer as a shortstop and pitcher, participating in the KY state all-star game while hitting over .500 his senior season with 9 home runs, also striking out over 100 batters with a career-high 16 strikeouts in one game. Andrus set a

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

state record by hitting a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

in five consecutive at bats. He worked out for professional baseball scouts during his high school summer and decided to focus on football in college.

College career

Andrus attended

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, H ...

and was a Marketing Major and a letter-man in football & baseball. In football, as a sophomore, he was named an All-American by the AP and second-team sports network all American in 2001. As a junior, he helped his team to a co-Conference Title by going 11-14 and kicking 7

field goals 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 ball ...

over 45 yards long. He was named first-team ALL- OVC 2 years in a row, both sophomore and junior seasons. For his career at Murray State, Andrus was 26-36 on

and 61-62 on extra points. His only missed PAT came on his final attempt. Andrus hit a school record 52-yard field goal against

Eastern Illinois Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

as time expired to secure Murray State a spot in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. The victory also gave Murray State a share of the conference championship. (He did not play football his senior season, as he transferred to the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

; but he participated in baseball after transferring from Kentucky during the spring.)

Professional career

First stint with Colts

Andrus was undrafted in the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

, but was not signed until joining the

on February 8, 2006. He was waived on August 14, only to be re-signed two days later on August 18. Andrus was waived again on September 2 and spent the rest of the season out of football. Andrus was re-signed by the Colts on February 13, 2007 and was allocated to

NFL Europa NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

, where he won

World Bowl XV World Bowl XV, officially known as Yello Strom World Bowl XV, was NFL Europa's 2007 championship game, and the final game in the league's history. It was played at Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt, Germany on Saturday, June 23, 2007. The defending ...

playing for the

Hamburg Sea Devils Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Hamburg Sea Devils: * Hamburg Sea Devils (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 2005 and 2007; * Hamburg Sea Devils (ELF) The Hamburg Sea Devils are an American football team in ...

. He scored the last point in NFL Europa history by kicking an extra point late in the game. For the season, Andrus was successful on 14 of his 17 field goals, with two of his misses coming from greater than 50 yards. The Colts waived Andrus on August 28, 2007, and he again spent the regular season out of football.

New York Giants

Andrus signed with the

on January 9, 2008, but was waived on February 13.

Second stint with Colts

After being waived by the Giants, Andrus was claimed off waivers by the

on February 14, 2008. However, he was waived prior to training camp on June 11 and spent the rest of the year out of football.

First stint with Buccaneers

Andrus was signed by the

on January 8, 2009, only to be waived on March 11.

Third stint with Colts

Andrus was re-signed by the

on June 9, 2009. He played his first regular season game for them in the 2009 season opener, filling in for

Adam Vinatieri Adam Matthew Vinatieri (born December 28, 1972) is an American former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 24 seasons with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Considered one of the greatest kick ...

, who was recovering from knee and hip surgery. He was waived after that game on September 16.

Second stint with Buccaneers

Andrus was signed on October 5 after the Buccaneers released

Mike Nugent Michael Nugent (born March 2, 1982) is a former American football placekicker. He played college football for Ohio State University, and was twice recognized as a consensus All-American. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the second round o ...

. After going 0-for-1 on field-goal attempts and a perfect 7-7 in extra points in five games with the miss being a block, the Buccaneers waived Andrus in favor of

Connor Barth Connor Thomas Barth (born April 11, 1986) is a former American football placekicker who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina and was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undraft ...

San Francisco 49ers

Andrus had in-season workouts for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

, New York Giants,

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 ( ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

and

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 ...

in 2009, but was not signed. He was signed by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

on January 2, 2010 after injuries to

Joe Nedney Joseph Thomas Nedney (born March 22, 1973) is a former American football placekicker. Born and raised in San Jose, California, Nedney played college football at San Jose State and signed as an undrafted player with the Miami Dolphins in 1996. He ...

and Ricky Schmitt prior to the regular season finale. Andrus resigned with the 49ers on November 17, 2010 to fill-in for injured

after spending the 2010 offseason with the team. Andrus was released on December 1, 2010 because of a serious ankle injury that forced him to retire. The 49ers signed former

Pittsburgh Steeler The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

kicker Jeff Reed.

References

External links

San Francisco 49ers bio49ers Sign Andrus - 49ers.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrus, Shane 1980 births Living people People from Murray, Kentucky Players of American football from Kentucky American football placekickers Murray State Racers football players Indianapolis Colts players Hamburg Sea Devils players New York Giants players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players San Francisco 49ers players