Obi Egekeze Early years . Egekeze was born in Augusta , Georgia in 1985 . He attended Westside High School in Augusta , where he was a three - year starter in football , basketball and soccer . A placekicker and punter for the school ' s football team , he was selected as an all - state player as a senior . Egekze also maintained a high school grade point average of 3 . 86 and was recruited to play college football by several major universities , including the University of Georgia , Ohio State University , University of Texas , and Penn State . He accepted a scholarship to attend the University of Maryland . University of Maryland . During the 2006 season , Egekeze handled kickoffs for the Maryland Terrapins after competing with Dan Ennis for the starting job as placekicker . He became the Terrapins ' starting placekicker both in 2007 and 2008 . Egekeze started all 26 games for the Terrapins in 2007 and 2008 , scoring 164 points on 68 extra points ( 68 - of - 69 converted ) and 32 field goals ( 32 - for - 47 converted ) . He ranks tenth in scoring in the history of the Maryland football program . Egekeze suffered a slump early in the 2008 season that included five consecutive missed field goal attempts ( three of which hit an upright ) . In late September 2008 , a writer for " The Baltimore Sun " wrote : " Here ' s a bad sign . I Googled ' Egekeze ' and ' crossbar ' and came up with 986 hits . " As word of the slump spread , Egekeze received advice and encouragement from kickers across the United States , including Kansas City Chiefs kicker , Nick Novak and Pro Football Hall of Fame r Jan Stenerud . Egekeze said at the time , " It is completely different talking to another kicker who has had those up - and - down days . We all watch each other ' s stats and know how everyone is doing . We all know . " Egekeze regained his form and converted several key field goals that led to important wins for the 2008 Maryland Terrapins football team , including a game - winning kick in the rain during the closing seconds against North Carolina State , another game - winning kick against North Carolina to move Maryland into first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference , and four field goals in a single game against # 21 ranked Wake Forest . The slump and Egekeze ' s comeback after receiving support from fellow kickers was the subject of extensive press coverage in 2008 and 2009 . Egekeze received his undergraduate degree in finance in May 2008 , but remained at the University of Maryland as a graduate student in international business . He was twice selected as an Academic All - ACC player . Later years and family . Egekeze subsequently signed to play professional football for the Omaha Nighthawks as an undrafted free agent in 2010 . Egekeze is now pursuing his MBA at University of Illinois Urbana , and started the U of I chapter of Uplifting Athletes , a national nonprofit organization aligning college football with rare diseases and raising them as a national priority through outreach , research , education and advocacy . His brother Ndu Egekeze played basketball for Penn State from 2000 to 2004 . Another brother , Nkem Egekeze , played soccer at Mercer University .