Lonny Calicchio

Lonny Calicchio was born on October 24, 1972, in Massachusetts. He lived in Burlington, Massachusetts in his early years. He attended South Plantation High School, Plantation, Florida, helping the team reach the sectional playoffs as a junior. His high school long was 55 yards, and he also kicked a 65-yarder in practice.[1] Due to low grades, Calicchio was not able to attend a major university to start his college career.[2]

Instead, he played his first year in the NJCAA for Northwest Mississippi Community College. He helped his team make a national championship as a sophomore, and was twice named All-American with Northwest Mississippi. After leading the nation in scoring during 1992, he was named to the NJCAA All-American first-team.[3] He finished his junior college career 101-for-119 on extra points, and 15-for-24 on field goals.[1]

He signed with Maryland in following the 1992 season, but did not academically qualify to play. He sat out for the '93 season, working as a security guard at a Plantation, Florida, motel.[4] "It was pretty boring," he said.[4] "That's what made me decide I needed to get back to school and definitely play football."[4] He transferred to Ole Miss in 1994, and was able to play.

He was named the team's starting punter and also handled kickoff duties. In a practice game at Vaught–Hemingway Stadium, Calicchio made a 70-yard punt. Teammate Stacy Wilson said, "I love to watch him kick. He's amazing to me. He's going to fill a big gap for us on special teams. There's going to be some times now when we're playing on the other peoples' end of the field."[4]

After posting a "disturbing" 35-yard average per punt in week three against Vanderbilt, where one of his kicks went just 12 yards, Calicchio returned with a 48.1 average versus Georgia.[5] His performance at Georgia included a 57-yard punt, the longest made by a member of Ole Miss since 1992.[5] "At Georgia, I was kind of feeding off of what happened at Vanderbilt," he said in an interview after the game.[5] "I made a promise to myself and the defense that I wouldn't let them down again."[5] His head coach, Joe Lee Dunn, said, "I've always felt he’s a great punter. He's got the job as long as doesn't have any more 12-yarders."[5]

After a blocked kick and several other errors near the end of the season, Calicchio lost his punting job to Walter Grant with two games remaining. He finished the year with a 38.7 yard average on 53 kicks. Grant, a senior, left after the year, and he regained his starting position. When Tommy Tuberville replaced Joe Lee Dunn as head coach, he decided that Calicchio's style of punting "had to go".[6] After changing from a three-step approach to what Tuberville called a "two-step and jab", his kicks improved to a 40.3 average to start the season.[6] Against Auburn, he set a career-long with a 79-yard kick.[6] He was named "player of the game", after a 20–17 win over Tulane.[6]

After graduating, Calicchio went unselected in the 1996 NFL Draft. He was subsequently signed by the Washington Redskins, but lost the position battle with Matt Turk and was released in training camp.[7]

He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys in early 1997. In preseason week one, a loss versus the Oakland Raiders, Calicchio made a 15-yard punt, and, with fellow punter Toby Gowin, posted just a 29-yard average per punt.[8] Though he rebounded the next week with 52-yard and 55-yard kicks, he eventually was released in favor of Gowin.[9]

On September 23, 1997, Calicchio was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles to the practice squad.[10] To make room, the Eagles cut Justin Armour. He was reportedly signed due to the Eagles kicking teams being described as "one of the worst in the league", with opponents starting drives on average from their own 38-yard line (compared to the league average 25).[11] Coach Ray Rhodes said before a game against the Minnesota Vikings, "He is kicking the ball pretty decent. We will look at him a few more days. I need to see more consistency."[12] He was promoted to the active roster against the Vikings, and kicked off to start the game, with the ball landing at the 3-yard line.[13] "His kicks had height, but they didn't go the distance," wrote Gary Miles of The Philadelphia Inquirer.[14] The Eagles released Calicchio on October 1, after he had played in just one game.[15] His roster spot was filled by Justin Armour, who had been released to make room for Calicchio one week earlier.[15]

He returned to the Eagles in late October and was named kickoff specialist for their game against the Arizona Cardinals. An article in The Philadelphia Inquirer said, "It took him five weeks, dozens of practice kicks and a victory this week in a three-way kickoff contest, but Lonny Calicchio will finally get another chance to save the Eagles' kickoff team."[16] His kicks again were short, with none reaching the endzone besides one that was called back, and the Eagles lost 21–31.[17] He was subsequently released along with Justin Armour.[18]

In 1998, he briefly spent time with the Buffalo Bills and was later signed by the Carolina Panthers, only to be released on August 25.[19]

On April 21, 1999, Calicchio was signed by the Indianapolis Colts.[20] In a preseason game versus the Cincinnati Bengals, he "all but whiffed" on a kickoff and injured himself during the play,[21] leading to his release with an injury settlement shortly afterwards.[22] After being out of football for three years, he was given a tryout with the Minnesota Vikings in 2002, but did not sign.[23] He subsequently retired.

Calicchio later became a police officer in Miramar, Florida. He was inducted into the Northwest Mississippi Community College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.[1]