Mason_Crosby

Mason Crosby

Mason Walker Crosby (born September 3, 1984 in Lubbock, Texas), is a professional American football placekicker for the Green Bay Packers in the National Football League. During his playing days at the University of Colorado, Crosby was widely considered the best kicker in college football, as evidenced by ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr.'s Top 5 Seniors by position in 2006. Crosby was a unanimous selection as a First Team All American by the Associated Press, the Football Writers Association of America, The Sporting News, and Walter Camp Football Foundation for the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. He was the runner-up for the Lou Groza Award, despite being heavily favored to win.

College career

During his senior season at Colorado, Mason Crosby became the first player in Big 12 Conference history to be named player of the week eight times. In late 2006, he also became Colorado's all-time leading scorer, with 308 career points. The previous record holder was Eric Bieniemy (1987-1990) with 254.

While enrolled at Colorado, Crosby displayed extraordinary leg strength, making a school record 60-yard field goal against Iowa State in 2004. Crosby’s 58-yard field goal against Miami in 2005 was the longest ever kicked in NCAA Division I-A football at sea-level without a tee. In all, Crosby holds 31 school records. Throughout his Colorado career, Crosby retained his accuracy, connecting on 66 of 88 field goals in total, and 30 of 34 inside 40-yards.

During college, Crosby developed a reputation for kicking in the clutch, making 12 of 13 field goals in the fourth quarter, and a perfect 10-10 in the final 8 1/2 minutes of games. This bent was most evident when Crosby played rival Colorado State University, against which Crosby made kicks of 55 (2004), 48, and 47 yards (2005) in consecutive years to win the Rocky Mountain Showdown.

Crosby also served as the Buffs' kickoff specialist, where his knack for forcing touchbacks after touchdowns made him a fan favorite. Overall, 138 of Crosby's 203 career kickoffs were touchbacks, including an 87-yard kickoff touchback from the 20-yard-line against Iowa State in 2004.

Statistics

	Kickoffs					Scoring / Field Goals
Season	Total	Touch Backs	Inside 20	Over End Zone	Opponent Avg. Start	PAT	10-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50-59	60+	FG-FGA	Pct.	Long	Points
2003	37	26	2	17	23	31-37	0-0	4-4	0-0	3-4	0-1	0-0	7- 9	77.8	44	52
2004	59	41	6	26	21	28-30	1-1	5-5	5-5	3-5	4-6	1-1	19-23	82.6	60	85
2005	61	43	4	33	22	31-31	0-0	3-4	5-6	8-11	5-7	0-0	21-28	75.0	58	94
2006	46	28	8	12	22	11-11	0-0	5-6	7-8	5-5	2-6	0-3	19-28	67.9	56	76
TOTALS	203	138	20	88	22	100-108	1-1	17-19	17-19	19-25	11-20	1-4	66-88	75.0	60	308

Note: Average Starting Yardline: Onsides, short squibs and free kicks are omitted in figuring the above - out-of-bounds are not.

Collegiate Awards

2005

Walter Camp All-American
Lou Groza Award runner-up

2006

Walter Camp All-American
All-Big 12 Conference

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Mason Crosby was chosen by the Green Bay Packers with the 19th pick of the sixth round (193rd overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft, the last of three consecutive picks for the Packers, and the third kicker overall. Crosby entered training camp in a battle with incumbent Dave Rayner for the right to boot the ball for the Packers. During Green Bay's first pre-season game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Crosby kicked a 52-yard field goal, the longest field goal in the history of Heinz Field, which is traditionally considered an extremely difficult place to kick. When the Packers made their final roster cut, it was revealed that Crosby beat out Rayner for the starting job.

In his first regular season game, Crosby converted all three field goals he attempted, including a 53-yarder and a 42-yard kick with two seconds left on the clock to help the Packers defeat the visiting Philadelphia Eagles. The kick was the first game-winner by a rookie on Kickoff Weekend since 1979 (when Matt Bahr achieved the same feat). Crosby is the first player in NFL history to kick a 50-yard field goal and a game-winning field goal with under a minute remaining in his NFL debut. Crosby was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week (the first rookie kicker to receive this honor on opening weekend).

Crosby was awarded the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November 2007. He led all NFL kickers with 54 points during the month and tied for the lead with 12 field goals as the Packers posted a 4-1 mark. Crosby converted 12 of 15 field goals during November and was a perfect 18-for-18 on PATs. The sixth-round pick (No. 193) had at least one field goal in every game, including four in the Week 9 win at Kansas City. His longest field goal of the month was a 52-yarder in the Week 13 contest at Dallas. For the 2007 season, Crosby leads the NFL with 130 points scored and his 24 field goals rank first in the NFC. Crosby is currently 14 points away from setting the NFL record for most points scored in a season by a rookie (Kevin Butler had 144 points for Chicago in 1985).

Crosby was voted the Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week for games played on December 13 - 17. Crosby went four-for-four in field goals, including a long 50-yard field goal and 46-yard and 44-yard kicks, and three-for-three in extra points in the Packers' 33 - 14 win over the St. Louis Rams.

Crosby finished the season leading the NFL with 141 points, the highest-scoring season by a kicker in franchise history and third-highest season point total by any Packers player.

Professional Awards

2007

NFC Special Teams Player of the Week (Week 1)
NFC Special Teams Player of the Month (November)

Personal Information

Mason Crosby graduated in December 2006 from the University of Colorado, majoring in communication. He attended Georgetown High School in Texas. He is a Houston Astros fan and an avid golfer.