Todd Michael Sievers (born April 1, 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 ...

who 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 ...

for the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

from 1998 to 2002, being part of the 2001 Division I-A National Championship team. He also played for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

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 ...

during the 2003 and 2004 offseasons.

High school career

Sievers played at

Ankeny High School Ankeny High School is a public high school located in Ankeny, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Ankeny Community School District, and serves grades 10 through 12. History AHS opened in 1913 and graduated six seniors in the spring of 1914. ...

in Ankeny, Iowa, serving as the team's kicker and punter. He set state records with a 63-yard field goal, as well as in scoring with 77 points. He also lettered in baseball and soccer.

College career

1998

Sievers served as

kickoff specialist A kickoff specialist is a special teams position in gridiron football. They are responsible for kicking the ball in the kickoff. These players tend to have a strong leg, often capable of making touchbacks, and capable of keeping a ball in the boun ...

as a true freshman. He played in 11 of 12 games that season (missed game against

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

due to death of grandfather). 14 of his 61 kickoffs went for

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 trav ...

1999

Sievers was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

prior to his second season.

2000

Following two seasons without any

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, Sievers went 11-of-17 on field goals and 52-of-58 on extra points while leading the team in scoring with 85. Kicked two 50-yard extra points against

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

and

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 ...

, due to multiple

unsportsmanlike conduct Unsportsmanlike conduct (also called untrustworthy behaviour or ungentlemanly fraudulent or bad sportsmanship or poor sportsmanship or anti fair-play) is a foul or offense in many sports that violates the sport's generally accepted rules of sport ...

penalties. He suffered two concussions while making tackles on kickoffs, in games against

McNeese State McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. ...

and

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

. He was diagnosed with

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

during the season.

2001

Sievers led the nation in field goals per game with 1.91, making 21-of-26 field goals for the season. He set a university record for scoring in a season with 119. Kicked a (then) career-best 48-yard field goal against

. In a win over

on November 10, he made four field goals and a potential game-saving tackle on a kickoff return. He was named the Big East special teams player of the week for his efforts. Went 1-of-2 in field goals against

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 ...

during the Rose Bowl. Miami went on to win 37–14, finishing the season 11–0 and being named National champions. Along with the National championship, Sievers was named First-team All-American, First-team All-Big East, and finished 4th for the

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 ...

2002

Sievers kicked 13-of-22 in field goals, while leading the nation with 66 successful extra points (out of 69 attempts). His 105 points rank 5th in Miami Hurricanes school history among kickers. Kicked a career-high 53-yard field goal against Florida; also attempted a career-high 57-yard field goal (unsuccessfully) against

Florida A&M Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the U ...

. Sievers played a key role in the

2003 Fiesta Bowl The 2003 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game that was the designated Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship Game for the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season, taking place on January 3, 2003 at Sun Devil Sta ...

against

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, kicking a 40-yard field goal, preceded by two icings by OSU

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Jim Tressel James Patrick Tressel (born December 5, 1952) is an American college football coach and university administrator who is currently the president of Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. Before becoming an administrator, Tressel was the ...

, to end regulation and force the game to

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

. Miami would go on to lose in the 2nd overtime 31–24, thus ending Sievers' college football career. He would be named First-team All-Big East for the 2nd consecutive year, along with being named a finalist for the

Mosi Tatupu Award Mosi or MOSI may refer to: * Mosi (given name) * Mosi (surname) * Molybdenum silicide (MoSi2), an important material in the semiconductor industry * MOSI protocol, an extension of the basic MSI cache coherency protocol * MOSI, Master Out Slave In ...

Professional career

Houston Texans

Following his college career, Sievers was signed by the

of 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 ...

May 5, 2003, competing against veteran

Kris Brown Kristopher Clayton Brown (born December 23, 1976) is a former American football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons in the late 1990s and 2000s. He played college football for the University of Neb ...

. The Texans waived him on August 26. He would be re-signed by the team for the following season's

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

, but the result was the same as he was released August 30, 2004.

Austin Wranglers

Sievers signed with the

Austin Wranglers The Austin Wranglers were an arena football team based in Austin, Texas. They played four seasons in the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2007 and spent one season in af2, the AFL's developmental league, in 2008. They made playoff appearances i ...

of 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 ...

for the 2005 season. He went 8-of-17 on field goals and 51-of-57 on extra points, as well as making three tackles on the season. In 2006, Sievers posted better numbers, going 14-of-25 on field goals and 90-of-105 on extra points. He also made four tackles and threw one pass during the season.

Dallas Desperados

In 2007, Sievers left Austin for the

Dallas Desperados The Dallas Desperados were a professional arena football team based in Dallas, Texas. The Desperados played in the Eastern Division of the Arena Football League from 2002 to 2008. The franchise began play in as an expansion team, and have post ...

(also of the AFL). He wasn't needed as much for field goals, only going 8-of-13; he would set career highs in both extra points made (115) and attempted (119). He left the Desperados after one season and hasn't played since.

Post-football Life

Sievers is a Sales Manager for Ben E Keith Beverages and also serves as a spokesperson for the cause of diabetes research.

Personal life

Sievers majored in marketing while at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

. He is the son of Don and Pat Sievers. Married to Toni Sievers.

References

External links

Miami Hurricane Profile 1

KFFL Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sievers, Todd 1980 births Living people Players of American football from Iowa American football placekickers Miami Hurricanes football players People from Ankeny, Iowa Houston Texans players Austin Wranglers players Dallas Desperados players