Matt Bryant
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| Matt Bryant | |
|---|---|
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| Date of birth | May 21, 1975 (age 31) |
| Place of birth |  Orange, Texas |
| Position(s) | Kicker |
| College | Baylor Oregon State Trinity Valley CC |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 2002-2003 2004 2004 2005-present |
New York Giants Indianapolis Colts Miami Dolphins Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
Matt Bryant (born May 21, 1975 in Orange, Texas) is a National Football League placekicker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
[edit] Early Years
After playing football and baseball at Bridge City High School in Bridge City, Texas, Bryant would go on to attend Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, TX where he was a two time JUCO All-American. He then signed with Oregon State University, later transferring to Baylor University. After graduating, he went undrafted, and worked for several years at a pawn shop, and then as a personal trainer. He had brief stints with the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League and the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe.
[edit] NFL Career
Bryant was originally signed by the New York Giants as a free agent in 2002. He kicked for them throughout the season and into the playoffs. In the playoffs that year, Bryant had a chance to kick the winning field goal against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Wild Card game. A botched snap caused a free-for-all that resulted in tackle-eligible Rich Seubert being tackled by 49er Chike Okeafor while trying to catch a pass (a pass interference penalty that wasn't called, with a penalty on the Giants ending the game). He kicked one more year for the Giants before moving on.
Bryant played one season with the Indianapolis Colts and then one season with the Miami Dolphins. He was signed as a free agent by Tampa Bay prior to the 2005 season.
On October 22, 2006, Bryant successfully converted a 62-yard field goal as time expired in Tampa Bay's 23-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. The field goal was the second longest distance (third place in NFL history, as the top two longest are tied for first place) behind the 63-yarders kicked by Tom Dempsey in 1970 and Jason Elam in 1998.
On October 23, 2006, in response to his 62-yard field goal, Mayor Pam Iorio declared October 23 to be "Matt Bryant Day" in Tampa, Florida [1].
[edit] Miscellaneous
Bryant drinks a chocolate milkshake on the night before each of his football games. He also is known for squeezing his size 10.5 foot into a size 9 kicking shoe for games. [2]
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Categories: 1975 births | American football placekickers | Baylor Bears football players | Indianapolis Colts players | Living people | Miami Dolphins players | New York Giants players | Oregon State Beavers football players | People from the Beaumont-Port Arthur metropolitan area | Tampa Bay Buccaneers players | American football placekicker stubs
