Craig Hentrich

Craig Hentrich

Craig Hentrich (15) holding a kick in November 2008.
No. 17, 15
Position:	Punter
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1971-05-18) May 18, 1971
Place of birth:	Alton, Illinois
Height:
Weight:
Career information
High school:	Alton (IL) Marquette
College:	Notre Dame
NFL draft:	1993 / Round: 8 / Pick: 200
Career history
New York Jets (1993)* Green Bay Packers (1993–1997) Tennessee Oilers/Titans (1998–2009)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
2× Pro Bowl (1998, 2003) 2× All-Pro (1998, 2003) Super Bowl champion (XXXI) PFW Golden Toe Award (1999) USA Today High School All-American (1988)
Career NFL statistics
Punts: 1,150 Punt yards: 49,281 Average punt: 42.9 Games played: 241 Player stats at NFL.com

Craig Hentrich (/ˈhɛntrɪk/; born May 18, 1971) is a former American football punter in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. He played college football for Notre Dame. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft, and has also played for the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans.

Early years

Hentrich graduated from Marquette Catholic High School in Alton, Illinois.

College career

Hentrich lettered four years at the University of Notre Dame, serving as both the placekicker and punter. He finished his career with a school-record 44.1-yard punting average and had 39 career field goals (on 56 attempts) to rank second behind John Carney’s 51. Also, he finished his career ranked second on the school's all-time scoring list with 294 points, the most ever by an Irish kicker, and made a record 98.3 percent (177/180) of his PAT attempts.

Professional career

Hentrich was drafted in the 1993 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, but was then signed to the Green Bay Packers. Hentrich spent four seasons with the Packers, playing in all 16 games for Green Bay from 1994 through 1997. He also handled kickoffs regularly for the Packers during the 1996 season, helping the Packers to a world championship in Super Bowl XXXI. Hentrich signed with the Tennessee Oilers following the 1997 season. In 1999, the Titans made it to Super Bowl XXXIV in which Hentrich featured, however they lost to the Kurt Warner-led St. Louis Rams, denying him a second Super Bowl ring.

Hentrich became a free agent after the 2008 season and was thinking of retiring. On March 6, 2009, he decided to return to football and the Titans. He signed a one-year deal for the veteran minimum, which under the labor agreement costs teams considerably less in cap dollars.

Hentrich was placed on injured reserve in 2009, ending his season.

He retired following the 2009 season after playing in 241 games and 16 seasons, falling just short of 50,000 career punting yards. He was the last remaining Titan player who was also a member of the 1999 team that appeared in the Super Bowl.

External links

• Tennessee Titans biography
• Hentrich Signs One Year Deal