Sam Ficken
| No. 5 – Los Angeles Rams | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Placekicker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | December 14, 1992 Valparaiso, Indiana | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 191 lb (87 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Valparaiso (IN) | ||||||||
| College: | Penn State | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2015 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2017 | |||||||||
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Samuel James Ficken (born December 14, 1992) is an American football placekicker for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State University.
High school career
Ficken, a former soccer player, was born in Valparaiso, Indiana, and attended Valparaiso High School, where he was named first-team Associated Press Class 5A all-state kicker. He also was a member of the all-area team. Ficken made 13 field goals during his senior year, including a school-record 52 yard kick. He also had 45 touchbacks on kickoffs.[1]
College career
Ficken saw little action in 2011 behind veteran starting kicker, Anthony Fera. He hit a point after touchdown in the opener against Indiana State, as well as kicking off once. He missed his first collegiate field goal attempt in a game against Temple, but rebounded with a completed field goal against Eastern Michigan.[2] Besides two more kickoffs, Ficken did not play for the remainder of the year.[1]
Ficken became the starting kicker in 2012. Ficken started the year off poorly, missing 7 of his first 11 field goals (including one from the one yard line in a game against Illinois, as well as missing 4 out of 5 in a one-point loss to Virginia[3]). However, after being mentored by starting Chicago Bears placekicker Robbie Gould,[4] he finished the year by hitting ten straight successful field goals, putting him 14 for 21 on the year. Ficken also completed 39 of 41 extra-point attempts (one was blocked, the other one was a miss).[2] He was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week on November 26, 2012, after a 3 for 3 game against the Wisconsin Badgers, one of which was the game-winning kick in overtime.[4]
Ficken made 15 consecutive field goals from October 27, 2012 to September 14, 2013, breaking the Penn State record for consecutive field goals made.[5]
To start the 2014 season, Ficken kicked a last-second, game-winning field goal in the Croke Park Classic.[6] During the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College, Ficken tied the game with a 44-yard field goal and kicked the game-winning point after touchdown in overtime.
Professional career
After going undrafted during the 2015 NFL Draft, Ficken attended the Kansas City Chiefs minicamp in May 2015, but was not signed.[7]
Jacksonville Jaguars
Ficken was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars on July 25, 2016.[8] On August 29, 2016, he was waived by the Jaguars.[9]
Kansas City Chiefs
On August 8, 2017, Ficken signed with the Kansas City Chiefs after an injury to Cairo Santos. After Santos recovered, Ficken was released. [10] He was waived on September 2, 2017.[11]
Los Angeles Rams
On December 20, 2017, Ficken was signed by the Los Angeles Rams to replace injured Pro Bowl kicker Greg Zuerlein.[12] On March 14, 2018, the Los Angeles Rams has submitted a minimum salary tender for exclusive rights free agent kicker Sam Ficken.
References
- ^ a b "Sam Ficken Profile - Penn state Official Athletic Site". Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- ^ a b "Sam Ficken Stats, News, Videos, Pictures, Bio - Penn State Nittany Lions". ESPN. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- ^ Pencek, Matthew (September 10, 2012). "Sam Ficken's bad day recalls Penn State kicker Ray Tarasi and redemption". PennLive LLC. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
- ^ a b Kaplan, Emily. "Penn State's Jordan Hill, Sam Ficken honored by Big Ten". Philly.com. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- ^ Moyer, Josh. "Sam Ficken goes from goat to hero". ESPN. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
- ^ Crowe, Aisling (August 31, 2014). "Croke Park lights up as sport and theatre collide". Independent.ie. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
- ^ "Penn State's Sam Ficken plans to follow Robbie Gould's model for NFL success". mcall.com. April 28, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
- ^ "Jacksonville Jaguars on Twitter". Retrieved July 25, 2016.
- ^ Oehser, John. "CB Demetrius McCray among eight players waived". Jaguars.com.
- ^ Thorman, Joel (August 9, 2017). "With Cairo Santos nursing an injury, Chiefs sign former Penn State kicker". ArrowheadPride.com.
- ^ "Chiefs Roster Down to NFL Mandated 53". Chiefs.com. September 2, 2017.
- ^ Simmons, Myles (December 20, 2017). "Rams Place Greg Zuerlein on IR, Sign Ficken". TheRams.com.