Matt Gay
Matt Gay (born March 15, 1994) is an American football placekicker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Utah.
Gay at MacDill Air Force Base in 2019 | |||||||||||
No. 9 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |||||||||||
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Position: | Placekicker | ||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
Born: | Orem, Utah | March 15, 1994||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||
Weight: | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | Orem (UT) | ||||||||||
College: | Utah | ||||||||||
NFL Draft: | 2019 / Round: 5 / Pick: 145 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of 2019 | |||||||||||
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College career
In 2017, Gay was a consensus All-American.[1] He also won the 2017 Lou Groza Award, being the first Ute to win the award as well as being the school's second ever finalist.[2] Gay also won the 2017 Vlade Award.[3] That season, he led the nation in field goals and set a new Pac-12 Conference record with 30 field goals.[4]
Professional career
Gay was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round, 145th overall, of the 2019 NFL Draft.[5]
2019 season: Rookie year
Gay made his professional debut in the Buccaneers' regular season opener against the San Francisco 49ers. He converted two extra points and one field goal in the loss.[6] On September 22, 2019, against the New York Giants, Gay missed two field goals, one extra point, and had an extra point blocked.[7]
NFL career statistics
General | Field Goals | PATs | Kickoffs | Points | ||||||||||
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Season | Team | GP | FGM | FGA | FG% | Blck | Long | XPM | XPA | XP% | KO | Avg | TBs | Pts |
2019 | TB | 16 | 27 | 35 | 77.1% | 2 | 58 | 43 | 48 | 89.6% | 1 | 14.0 | 0 | 124 |
Career | 16 | 27 | 35 | 77.1% | 2 | 58 | 43 | 48 | 89.6% | 1 | 14.0 | 0 | 124 |
Buccaneers franchise records
- Longest field goal by a rookie kicker - 58 yards (September 29, 2019 vs Los Angeles Rams)
- Most successful field goal attempts by a rookie kicker - 27 (tied with Martin Gramatica)
- Most successful extra point attempts by a rookie kicker - 43
- Most points scored by a rookie kicker - 124
Soccer career
Gay played for Utah Valley University for two seasons, leading the team in goals in 2014. He also spent time at the USA U-17 national team residency program.[8]
References
- Worthy, Lynn (December 13, 2017). "Matt Gay set to become Utes' seventh consensus all-America selection". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- Facer, Dirk (December 7, 2017). "Utah's Matt Gay wins Lou Groza Award". Deseret News. Deseret News Publishing Company. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- Decker, Ryan (December 26, 2017). "Bowl Preview: WVU, Utah Battle in Heart of Dallas". West Virginia Illustrated. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- Frye, Sean (December 26, 2017). "Utah kicker Matt Gay breaks Pac-12 record for field goals made in a season". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Enterprises. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- Sessler, Marc (April 27, 2019). "Buccaneers select kicker Matt Gay in fifth round". National Football League. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- "San Francisco 49ers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - September 8th, 2019". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
- "New York Giants at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - September 22nd, 2019". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
- Genessy, Jody (December 19, 2017). "Angel in the uprights: Utah kicker Matt Gay draws inspiration from friend who died". Deseret News. Deseret News Publishing Company. Retrieved September 19, 2019.