Jeremy Kapinos

Jeremy D. Kapinos (born August 23, 1984) is a former American football punter. He was first signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Penn State.

Jeremy Kapinos
No. 3, 7, 13
Position:Punter
Personal information
Born: (1984-08-23) August 23, 1984
West Point, New York, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:233 lb (106 kg)
Career information
High school:Springfield (VA) West
College:Penn State
Undrafted:2007
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Punts:140
Punting yard average:43.2
Net punting average:35.4
Player stats at NFL.com

Kapinos also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts.

Early years

Born an Army brat, Kapinos moved from city to city before his family settled in Springfield, Virginia.[1] He was named All-Met while at West Springfield High School (Virginia), in Springfield, Virginia,[1] where his coach was former Green Bay Packers punter Bill Renner.

College career

Kapinos was a Ray Guy Award finalist and a third-team All-American selection by the Associated Press while playing college football at Penn State University. He is the Nittany Lions' all-time leader in punting yardage.[2]

Professional career

New York Jets

Kapinos signed as an undrafted free agent with the New York Jets following the 2007 NFL draft on July 2 but was released during the preseason on August 2. On November 27, Kapinos was re-signed to the Jets' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 22 when wide receiver Laveranues Coles was placed on injured reserve. He saw his first regular season action that week against the Titans, punting five times for 208 yards, including two punts inside the 20.[3] Kapinos was then placed on the inactive list for the last game of the season.

After a well-publicized 2008 offseason competition with Ben Graham, the Jets released him on June 10, 2008.

Green Bay Packers

Kapinos signed a two-year deal[4] with the Green Bay Packers on December 3, 2008, to replace released punter Derrick Frost.[5][6] He averaged 34.5 yards on 8 punts, with 3 inside the 20, in the Packers' week 14 loss to Houston.[7]

Kapinos won the preseason competition with Durant Brooks to become the Packers' regular season punter for the 2009 NFL season[8] after leading the NFL in preseason in net punting yardage.[9] Kapinos was also pressed into service Week 17 as the Packers' holder following a string of bad kicks by placekicker Mason Crosby in previous games.[10]

According to the Green Bay Packers website, Kapinos did not receive a qualifying offer to retain his position as their starting punter for the 2010 NFL season.[11]

In late September 2010, the Carolina Panthers brought Kapinos in to mimic the left-footed punters they would face in the coming weeks: Tampa Bay's Chris Bryan, Cincinnati's Kevin Huber, and Arizona's Ben Graham.[12]

Indianapolis Colts

On October 25, 2010, the Indianapolis Colts signed Kapinos to replace the team's regular punter, Pat McAfee, who was serving a one-game suspension for his October 20 arrest for public intoxication. Kapinos was waived on November 3 after McAfee was reinstated.[13]

Pittsburgh Steelers

On December 7, 2010, he was signed by the Steelers to replace the injured Daniel Sepulveda, who tore the ACL in his non-kicking leg.[14] Kapinos was going to wear the number 3, which had been worn earlier in the season by longtime kicker Jeff Reed prior to his release, but eventually decided to wear number 13 instead, being the first Steeler to don that number since quarterback Bill Mackrides wore it last in 1954. Kapinos punted in Super Bowl XLV as a Steeler, setting a Super Bowl record for average punting yardage (3 for 51 avg).[1] The Steelers lost the Super Bowl to the Green Bay Packers by a score of 31–25.[15] He was released at the end of the 2011 preseason after a position battle with a once-again healthy Sepulveda.[16]

Kapinos re-joined the Steelers prior to Week 9 of the 2011 NFL season after Sepulveda was placed on injured reserve for the season.[17][18]

The team signed him to a one-year contract that offseason, offering Kapinos an exclusive rights free agent tender on February 22, 2012.[19] He signed the tender on April 16, 2012. Kapinos was waived/injured during final cuts on August 31, 2012, after being unable to punt due to an injury.

Free agency

Kapinos was a one-week practice squad addition for the Steelers as they prepared for fellow left-footed punter Sepulveda.[20]

Personal life

Kapinos earned a Bachelor of Science in Recreation, Park and Tourism Management from Penn State in 2006. He is an Eagle Scout.[10] Kapinos' father David, a retired United States Army Colonel, played football at Army.[10]

Although his surname sounds Greek, Kapinos is actually of Polish descent—although he does admit a penchant for Greek cuisine.[21]

Kapinos joined Packers placekicker Mason Crosby and long snapper Brett Goode to kick footballs into the stands during the pre-race "kick off" of the 2009 A.J. Foyt 225 IRL race at the Milwaukee Mile on May 31, 2009.[22]

References
  1. "NFL Punter Hanging Around Arlington, Waiting To Be Signed". ARLnow.com. 2011-09-30.
  2. "Scout.com: Kapinos' Military Precision". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  3. McManus, Jane (2008-05-19). "Punter can use hands, but seeks job with foot". The Journal News. Archived from the original on 2016-01-21. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  4. McGinn, Bob (2008-12-06). "Packers Notes: Clements won't seek CFL job". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
  5. "Packers Sign P Kapinos To Active Roster, Sign WR Sam To Practice Squad". Packers.com. 2008-12-03. Archived from the original on December 6, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  6. "Packers' New Punter Gets Ovation From Teammates". WorldNow/WBAY-TV. 2008-12-04. Archived from the original on 2008-12-08. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
  7. Bedard, Greg A. (2008-12-07). "Punter gets it right: Kapinos unfazed by poor first try". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
  8. Wilde, Jason (2009-08-31). "Packers: Punting job goes to Kapinos". Wisconsin State Journal.
  9. Bedard, Greg A. (2009-08-30). "Punter draws his strength from numbers". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  10. Hendricks, Martin (2009-12-31). "Q&A with Jeremy Kapinos". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  11. "Packers.com » Team » Players » Jeremy Kapinos". Archived from the original on 2008-12-07. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  12. "Notebook: Panthers' defensive struggles continue". The Charlotte Observer. 2010-09-20.
  13. Chappell, Mike (3 November 2010). "Colts let punter Pat McAfee out of dog house". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  14. "Steelers.com (2010-12-07) "Steelers Sign Kapinos; Place Sepulveda on IR"". Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2010-12-07.
  15. "Super Bowl XLV - Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Green Bay Packers - February 6th, 2011". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
  16. Bouchette, Ed (2011-09-03). "Steelers make final five cuts". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  17. "Steelers lose punter Dan Sepulveda for rest of season with knee injury, sign Jeremy Kapinos". The Washington Post. 2011-11-05.
  18. Hensley, Jamison (2011-11-06). "The Rivalry: Steelers change punters". ESPN.
  19. Bryan, Dave (2012-02-22). "Steelers Tender Contract to Free Agent Punter Jeremy Kapinos". Steelers Depot.
  20. Wilson, Aaron (2011-09-09). "Ravens Notebook: Zbikowski to start against Steelers". Carroll County Times. Archived from the original on 2012-07-23.
  21. Bires, Mike (December 18, 2011). "Steelers First & 10: Jeremy Kapinos". The Beaver County Times. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020.
  22. "Nine Have Captured Back-To-Back Victories at Indy then The Mile". The Auto Channel. 2009-05-24.
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