Nick Novak Nicholas Ryan " Nick " Novak ( born August 21 , 1981 ) is an American football placekicker who is currently playing for the San Diego Chargers in the National Football League . He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2005 . He played college football at Maryland . Novak has been a member of the Dallas Cowboys , Washington Redskins , Arizona Cardinals , Cologne Centurions , Kansas City Chiefs , Florida Tuskers , and New York Jets . Early years . Novak was born and grew up in San Diego , California and has the same godmother ( Dorothy Vails - Weber ) as tight end Kellen Winslow II . After moving to Charlottesville , Virginia in 1994 , Novak attended Albemarle High School where he was a letterman in football and soccer . In football , he was a three - year varsity letterman , twice garnering All - District and All - " Daily Progress " honors , and winning All - State honors following his sophomore and senior seasons . Novak was also a central defender on some of Albemarle ' s best soccer teams , starring with twin brother Chris . Nick ' s older brother Andrew was a 2 - time All - State selection and MVP of Western Albemarle High School ' s only Virginia State Champion Soccer Team . Both of Nick ' s brothers went on to play college soccer . Nick graduated from Albemarle High School in 2000 . Nick ' s parents are Drs . Julie and Bob Novak , Professors at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio . College career . Novak attended the University of Maryland . It was during a nationally televised game in 2001 against Georgia Tech that the then - redshirt freshman established himself , successfully completing a 46 - yard field goal to send the game into overtime . In the second stanza , Novak connected on a 26 - yard field goal that ultimately won the game for a resurgent Terrapin team . Novak would go on to establish himself as one of the more consistent and clutch kickers in the country ; his leg keyed comeback victories against North Carolina State in 2002 and 2003 . Accordingly , he was frequently an all - conference specialist and a mainstay on the Lou Groza watchlist . During the first game of his senior season , he became the ACC ' s all - time leading scorer , kicking a field goal allowing him to surpass Scott Bentley ' s career total of 324 points . Novak ultimately ended his college career with 393 points , best in the league and fifth - best all - time amongst kickers in the NCAA . He was awarded the Jim Tatum Award by the ACC , given annually to the top senior student - athlete among the league ' s football players . He remains the only Maryland player to receive that award . Said Maryand Coach Ralph Freidgen , " I don ' t think there could have been a more deserving recipient for the Tatum Award than Nick Novak . Everything he does in his life is toward the goal of perfection . It has been a pleasure to see the effort that he has given both on the field and in the classroom and he is a tremendous example of the type of person and player we are looking for at the University of Maryland . " While at Maryland , Novak was a two - time member of the All - ACC Academic Football team , a three - time member of the ACC Honor Roll and made Maryland ' s Dean ' s List on three occasions . He is a three - time CoSida Academic All - District selection and was named the 2004 LeFrak Scholar , an honor given to a Maryland football player , basketball player and track athlete who " exhibits extraordinary athletic ability , leadership and athletic achievement . " Novak was also a member of the Maryland Alpha chapter of Phi Delta Theta at The University of Maryland in College Park . In 2007 , Novak was selected to be commemorated in a special edition poster recognizing the top 30 figures in Maryland football history entitled , " A Winning Tradition , " " honoring and paying tribute to the players and coaches who made a significant impact on the Maryland Football Program , both on and off the field over the past fifty plus years . " Professional career . Washington Redskins . Novak , an undrafted free agent , signed with the Washington Redskins in September 2005 , and appeared in five games , notably hitting a game - winning extra point in a season opening Monday night game at Dallas and coming through with a game - saving tackle on the ensuing kickoff . That year he also kicked a game - winning field goal in overtime against the Seattle Seahawks , which kept the Redskins undefeated and atop the NFC East . Because he was signed that year for the limited purpose of filling in for an ailing John Hall , he was released shortly after Hall returned to form . He was signed almost immediately by the Arizona Cardinals , for kickoff duties while Neil Rackers hobbled through the latter half of the 2005 season . Novak appeared in five games for the Cardinals in 2005 and was 3 for 3 on field goal attempts . After spending the 2006 preseason with the Cardinals , he re - signed with the Washington Redskins on October 10 , 2006 , again replacing injured kicker John Hall . On November 5 , after missing a 49 - yard field goal with 35 seconds left , Redskin safety Troy Vincent blocked a Dallas Cowboys field goal ; Sean Taylor picked the ball up and ran it all the way to the Dallas 45 - yard line . Then , a facemask penalty was called which moved the ball to the Cowboy 30 and gave the Redskins one more play with no time on the clock . Novak then kicked a 47 - yard field goal to defeat Dallas 22 – 19 . It was subsequently ranked the fourth greatest moment in FedExField history by Redskins . com . On December 4 , the Redskins released Novak in favor of Shaun Suisham . NFL Europe . After the end of the 2006 season , he was signed by the Chicago Bears and allocated to NFL Europa where he was the placekicker for the Cologne Centurions in NFL Europa ' s final season . He had a successful campaign in Europe , including a game - winner for the third - place Centurions . After an impressive preseason with the Bears , Novak was released due to the presence of All - Pro kicker Robbie Gould . Kansas City Chiefs . Novak auditioned for several teams during the 2007 season , including the San Diego Chargers , the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Kansas City Chiefs . Novak was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs on February 18 , 2008 . On September 28 , 2008 , Novak kicked four field goals for the Chiefs in their 33 – 19 victory over the Denver Broncos . On October 21 , 2008 , Novak was cut after missing two field goals in the previous game , being replaced by Connor Barth . Novak was one of seven kickers to be on the Chiefs roster in the past two years . San Diego Chargers . Novak signed with the San Diego Chargers on April 29 , 2010 to provide depth behind Nate Kaeding . After matching Kaeding , but ultimately losing out to the incumbent , the Chargers released him in the final round of preseason cuts . Florida Tuskers . The Florida Tuskers of the United Football League signed Novak for the 2010 season . In his league debut against the Las Vegas Locomotives , Novak set the UFL record for the longest field goal with a 54 - yarder . In that game he also made a 23 - yard field goal and three point after touchdown kicks . For his performance , he was named the UFL Special Teams Player of the Week . Against Hartford in Week 4 , Novak was again named UFL Special Teams Player of the Week when he connected on field goals of 29 , 42 , 24 , and 38 yards , in a close Tusker victory . Novak ’ s four field goals were a single - game United Football League record , as were his 15 overall points . During the regular season , Novak led the league in points with 69 , was 15 – 18 on field goals and holds every league and career place - kicking record in UFL history . Novak added on 2 field goals and 2 extra points in the UFL Championship to push his overall point total to 77 and his final field goal total to 17 / 21 . On November 24 , Novak was named the UFL Special Teams MVP for the 2010 season . Notably , in mid - October 2010 , the San Diego Chargers wanted to sign Novak to replace an injured Nate Kaeding . Novak beat out three other kickers in a tryout for the position at Charger Park . However , there were games still remaining in the UFL season and Novak remained under contract with the Tuskers . The Chargers were willing to pay the UFL required release fee of $ 150 , 000 to get him , but the UFL denied the request in order to keep Novak through the end of its season . New York Jets . Novak signed with the New York Jets on February 9 , 2011 to compete with incumbent Nick Folk . " The New York Daily News " chronicled his attempt to make the Jets ' roster in an August 2011 feature entitled , " " ' Journeyman Nick Novak Gives Incumbent Nick Folk a Run for Starting Job in Jets Camp " . " He was waived after the final pre - season game on August 30 . Return to Hometown San Diego Chargers . On September 13 , 2011 , Novak was re - signed to a two - year contract with the San Diego Chargers after Nate Kaeding suffered an ACL injury to his left knee on the opening kickoff against Minnesota . During the 2011 season , Novak made 27 of 34 field goals and set a Charger record making 11 kicks from 40 yards or longer . He established an NFL career - high with a 53 - yard field goal . 2 of his 3 onside kicks were recovered ( 66 % ) . He also made a career - high five field goals in a win at Denver . He competed for the Chargers job during the 2012 preseason and had a strong showing before losing out to Kaeding . He was released on August 31 . On September 29 , 2012 the Chargers re - signed Novak after Kaeding suffered a groin injury . He filled in for three games , and became the permanent kicker after Kaeding was released in late October . Novak ' s 18 / 20 ( 90 % ) field goal percentage during the 2012 regular season was the third most efficient campaign in Chargers history . His two misses were from 54 and 55 yards . He converted his other two attempts from beyond 50 yards . On December 9 , 2012 , Novak became only the fourth kicker in Heinz Field history to make a field goal of more than 50 yards there . The 34 - 24 victory was the first ever regular season win for the Chargers over the Steelers at Pittsburgh . He was 33 of 33 on extra points . 50 % of his onside kicks were recovered ( NFL average is around 20 % ) and he had 22 touchbacks out of 60 kickoffs with the opponents average starting field position being the 21 . 6 yard - line . Of 30 NFL kickers and Special Teams Units with at least 30 kick - offs in 2012 , only 4 had a better avg . kick - off starting field position than Novak and the Chargers ( 19 . 9 - Browns , 20 . 6 - Bears , 20 . 8 - Vikings and 21 . 4 - Ravens ) . Novak and the Chargers ranked at various spots in the top three in avg . kick - off starting field position for the majority of the year .