Justin Tucker

Justin Paul Tucker (born November 21, 1989) is an American football placekicker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL).

Tucker played in the 2008 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Tucker attended the University of Texas at Austin and played on the Longhorns football team.

In 2011, concluding a rivalry that saw Texas A&M University and the University of Texas square off 118 times over 117 years, he kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired.

Texas, then ranked No. 25, won 27–25.

Even though Tucker finished his college football career with an 83.3% field-goal conversion percentage which was the third-best in the program's history, he was not invited to the East-West Shrine Game, Senior Bowl or the NFL Scouting Combine.

Originally a communications major, Tucker switched to recording technology and studied under Nikita Storojev at the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music where he learned to sing operatically in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Latin, and Russian.

Tucker graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in music a semester early in order to train for the NFL Draft.

To help promote himself for the draft, Tucker shot an uncut and unedited five-minute YouTube video of him making all ten of his field goal attempts from left, right and center angles and distances ranging from 30 to 55 yards out.

At the end, Tucker looked at the camera and said, "Pick me."

He played college football at the University of Texas and was signed by the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2012.

Regarded as one of the greatest placekickers of all time, Tucker is the most accurate kicker in NFL history at 90.2 percent and holds the record for the longest successful NFL field goal at 66 yards.

Tucker has also been named to seven Pro Bowls and five first-team All-Pros, and was a member of the Ravens team that won Super Bowl XLVII.

Tucker graduated from Westlake High School in Austin, Texas.

At Westlake, he was a teammate of future NFL quarterback Nick Foles, tight end Kyle Adams, and linebacker Bryce Hager.

Tucker played wide receiver, safety, and placekicker on the Westlake Chaparrals.

He also played soccer from age 3–4 up until his sophomore year.

After not being among the four kickers (Randy Bullock, Greg Zuerlein, Blair Walsh and John Potter) selected in the 2012 NFL draft, Tucker signed as an undrafted free agent with the Baltimore Ravens on May 29, to begin workouts and camp for the Ravens alongside placekicker Billy Cundiff.

After Tucker's preseason performance, he was named the starter and Cundiff was released.

In his debut season, Tucker proved to be a very accurate kicker, making all 42 of his extra point attempts and missing only three out of his 33 field goals.

During Week 3 against the New England Patriots, Tucker kicked a game-winning field goal with two seconds left, giving the Ravens a narrow 31–30 victory and their first-ever regular season victory over the Patriots.

The field goal ended up being a source of controversy because the ball was kicked over the top of the right upright and clear replays showed that the ball was extremely close to sailing wide of the upright.

However, the kick was ruled "good" by the replacement referees (the original referees were on strike at the time) and since field goals are not reviewable, the play could not be reviewed, giving Baltimore the victory.

In Week 12 against the San Diego Chargers, Tucker kicked the game-tying and game-winning field goal at the end of regulation and in overtime respectively in a 16–13 road victory.

On January 12, 2013, during the Divisional Round game against the Denver Broncos, Tucker kicked a 47-yard field goal in double overtime to win the game (later known as the Mile High Miracle) and sent the Ravens to the AFC Championship for the second consecutive year.

During the second quarter of Super Bowl XLVII against the San Francisco 49ers, Tucker failed in completing the first fake field goal attempt in Super Bowl history, coming up just one yard short of the nine needed for the first down.

Nonetheless, his two fourth-quarter field goals secured a 34–31 victory for the Ravens, earning Tucker his first Super Bowl ring.

Despite missing two field goals in Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns, Tucker continued his success as an accurate kicker for the Ravens.

In Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins, Tucker kicked the go-ahead 44-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter to give the Ravens a 26–23 road victory.

He also kicked the game-winning 46-yard field goal in overtime against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 10, letting the Ravens win 20–17.

Tucker was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November.

On Thanksgiving, Tucker kicked five field goals en route to the Ravens' 22–20 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

He was also selected as the player of the game along with Jacoby Jones by John Madden.

Tucker brought his holder, Sam Koch and long snapper, Morgan Cox, to accept the award on screen with him.

In 2013, Tucker kicked a franchise record-tying six field goals that were the Ravens' only points in a narrow 18–16 victory over the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit on December 16, including a game-winning 61-yard field goal in the last minute of the game.

During the game, Tucker became the first kicker in NFL history to kick a field goal in the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s in the same game.

His 61-yard field goal set the NFL record for longest field goal in a domed stadium; Tucker would break his own record almost eight years later in the same stadium.

He was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week three times: Week 10, Week 12, and Week 15.

Tucker finished the year leading the league in field goal attempts and makes earning his first Pro Bowl selection as well as being voted first team All-Pro by AP voters.

In Week 3 against the Browns, Tucker kicked a game-winning 32-yard field goal as time expired to give the Ravens a narrow 23–21 road victory.