Inside the NFL | Ex-Middlebury kicker Hauschka comes to Foxboro with Ravens

    Arguably the best kicker in conference history is returning to NESCAC country on Sunday.
    Steve Hauschka, a Needham, Mass. native and former All-NESCAC kicker and punter at Middlebury, will be at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon when his Baltimore Ravens play the New England Patriots. Baltimore is undefeated so far at 3-0, with Hauschka doing his part to help the effort on special teams.
    Hauschka's whirlwind ascent to the role of NFL place kicker began when he was still an undergrad at Middlebury. There, Hauschka started off as a member of both the soccer and lacrosse teams as a freshman. But in his sophomore year, Hauschka decided to take his strong leg to the football field, even though he had never played the sport. He beat out five others to earn the starting job — a smart move by the Panthers' coaches, as he became the best kicker in the history of the school.
    In 2006 Hauschka tied former Tufts kicker Marcellus Rolle's NESCAC mark for field goals in a season with 10, a year in which he was named to First Team All-NESCAC as both a kicker and a punter. By the end of his career, he set a Middlebury record with 20 career field goals.
    Though he graduated with a degree in neuroscience and considered going to dental school, Hauschka was not ready to give up on his football career. He followed Boston College coach Tom O'Brien to North Carolina (NC) State and beat out two others for the kicking job.
    In his only year with the Wolfpack, he was a perfect 25-of-25 in extra points and also 16 of 18 in field goal attempts, including 8-for-8 from beyond 40 yards and also a game winning field goal against Miami. That was enough to lead the Atlantic Coast Conference in field goal percentage and earn him a spot on the semi-finalist list for the Lou Groza Award as the best kicker in the nation.
    After his year as a graduate student at NC State, Hauschka signed as an undrafted free agent with the Minnesota Vikings before winding up on the Ravens roster last season, where he served as the team's kickoff specialist.
    With the release of incumbent kicker Matt Stover in March, the door was open for Hauschka to fight for a starting position. But filling the shoes of one of the most accurate kickers in the history of the NFL is a tall task, and Hauschka had to fight to earn the role.
    Hauschka was locked in a preseason battle with 2008 Lou Groza Award winner and Florida State alum Graham Gano. But Hauschka's preseason performance was strong enough to hold off his more heralded challenger and get the starting nod for a Ravens team that has serious championship aspirations.
     Now that he is the full-time kicker in Baltimore, Hauschka is taking advantage of his latest opportunity. He is 5-for-7 on field goals through the team's first three games, including a 54-yarder, and he is a perfect 13-for-13 on extra points.
    In a few months, Hauschka could end up kicking in the postseason for the first time in his football career, as the NESCAC does not allow its participants to play in NCAA events and NC State did not make a bowl game in 2008.
    Doing so would be the culmination of an already remarkable run for Hauschka that has seen him win two collegiate kicking jobs as a walk-on and stick on an NFL team as an undrafted free agent. And come this weekend, he just might add one more item to his résumé: beating the team he grew up rooting for.