David Buehler David Buehler ( born February 5 , 1987 ) is an American football kicker for the New York Giants of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft . He played college football for the University of Southern California ( USC Trojans ) . High school years . Buehler attended Canyon High School in Anaheim , California where he lettered in football , volleyball , golf , and track . In football , he played linebacker and running back . He wore jersey # 37 and was an All - Century League football selection as a senior . David Buehler graduated from Canyon High School in 2005 . College career . Buehler attended Santa Ana College , a junior college in Santa Ana , California , for the 2005 - 2006 school year and was a student and a letterman in football . In football , he played kicker , safety , goal - line running back and a gunner on punts . He was named to the All - Mission Conference National Division first team . At the junior college scouting combine he had the fastest 40 - yard dash time . USC coaches saw Buehler ' s potential at multiple positions , and head coach Pete Carroll offered him a scholarship in the summer of 2006 . USC Trojans . Buehler was recruited to USC for multiple positions , and in his first season with the Trojans ( 2006 ) was designated as a back - up placekicker , fullback and safety while playing coverage on special teams . He appeared in 11 games , primarily on special teams . Because he had a longer range than the Trojans ' starting kicker , Mario Danelo , Buehler was used as for one , long field goal attempt , a successful 49 yard kick against California ; it was the Trojans ' longest field goal since 1998 . Buehler had not expected to kick during the game , he made the kick while wearing the heavier equipment of a fullback and tied the score at 9 as the Trojans went on their way to a conference - clinching victory . He had one kickoff during the 2006 Stanford game and , after starting kicker Troy Van Blarcom was dismissed from the team for academic reasons at the end of the regular season , Buehler handled kickoff duties during the 2007 Rose Bowl . Of his 8 kickoffs that season , 6 pinned opponents within the 20 - yard line , with 3 touchback s . Days after the 2007 Rose Bowl , Danelo , the two - year starting placekicker died in an accident . Danelo had been expected to start during the 2007 season ; with his death and the dismissal of Van Blarcom the previous month , Buehler became the starting kicker and dropped his other positions . Buehler started all of the 2007 season : in 13 games , he successfully made 16 - of - 19 field goals and 52 - of - 54 extra point s , plus he made 3 tackles . Thirty - five of his 84 kickoffs kept opponents within their 20 - yard line , with 18 touchbacks . Buehler started all 13 games as a senior in the 2008 season , making 9 of 13 field goals and 65 of 66 extra points . Three of his four missed field goals during the season came during his final regular season game against rival UCLA , where he missed all three attempts in a 28 – 7 Trojans victory . Buehler blamed himself for trying to do a different routine before his final regular - season game . He was able to bounce back during the 2009 Rose Bowl , making his one field goal attempt and successfully kicking all five extra points in a 38 – 24 victory over Penn State . Buehler finished the 2008 season with 5 , 976 yards on 88 kickoffs . He also registered 48 total touchbacks on those 88 kickoffs . Professional football . NFL Draft . Buehler was one of twelve USC players invited to the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine . At the Combine , Buehler opted to participate in areas not required of kickers , and recorded results on strength and speed tests that were better than other regarded linebackers and offensive line men ; he recorded 25 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press test , better than USC teammate Rey Maualuga , linemen Michael Oher and Eugene Monroe , and equal to Aaron Curry , and ran 4 . 56 and 4 . 63 seconds in the 40 - yard dash , better than teammates Brian Cushing and Clay Matthews III . Dallas Cowboys . He was drafted in the 5th round by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2009 NFL Draft , and the first kicker taken . He was the first USC kicker to be drafted since Cole Ford in 1995 . He handles the team ' s kickoffs and missed his only field goal attempt in the Cowboys ' opening regular season game against the Washington Redskins . He did make his only attempt ( from 39 yards ) in a pre - season game against Oakland Raiders on August 13 , 2009 . He also takes the field on the kick and punt return teams . In May 2009 , when the Dallas Cowboys ' training facility collapsed during rookie mini - camp , Buehler was one of the few players injured . Standing on the sideline at the time of the collapse , he ran out a side door and was sprinting across a practice field when a pole from the structure crashed into him . The impact caused a minor concussion , gashes in his forehead and right knee , and had skin ripped off his ear ; he required three stitches on his kicking knee . During training camp , Buehler tired of taunts from defensive back DeAngelo Smith ( a fifth - round 2009 draft pick ) about how he didn ' t do anything during practice , challenged him to a 50 - yard run . Buehler won going away . At the end of his rookie year , Buehler finished the regular season with 29 touchback s , the most of all NFL kickers . That number also set a new franchise record for most touchback s in a single season . The previous record was 27 by Lin Elliot in 1992 . Although Buehler hit a career long field goal of 53 yards on November 25 , 2010 against the New Orleans Saints but he missed a 59 yard field goal which had a chance to tie the game up , he suffered from inconsistency , making only 24 out of 32 field goals attempts , ranking 30th out of 32 NFL kickers in accuracy . This caused the Cowboys to start the 2011 season with rookie Dan Bailey performing field goal duties , while Buehler will handle kickoffs only , as he did in 2009 . Buehler was released following the 2011 season on March 13 , 2012 . New York Giants . On February 13 , 2013 , Buehler signed with the New York Giants . Personal . Buehler ' s father , John , was a shot put ter for the USC Trojans . His uncle , George Buehler , played football for Stanford University and later the Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns ; another uncle also played football at Stanford . He also has a cousin , Eric Buehler , who is enlisted in the United States Marine Corps that has served in Operation Enduring Freedom ( Afghanistan ) . His brother Andy Buehler is Vice President of Personal Training at Southern California based gym chain L . A . Fitness .