Graham Gano Graham Gano " ( pronounced ga - KNOW ) " ( born April 9 , 1987 ) is an American football placekicker for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2009 . He played college football at Florida State University . Gano has also played for the Las Vegas Locomotives and the Washington Redskins . During his tenure with the Redskins , he attained the Redskins ' franchise record for longest field goal at 59 yards in 2011 . Early years . Gano ' s father Mark Gano was a United States Navy officer stationed in Scotland when Graham Gano was born . Graham Gano has a long line of ancestors who served in the military , including his grandfather Richard Gano , of Martinsburg , WV . Gano grew up in Pensacola , Florida , where he attended and played high school football for J . M . Tate High School . In high school he was an All - American First - Team selection by USA Today and the nation ' s third ranked kicker by Rivals . com . Gano played in the CaliFlorida All - Star game , completing a 50 - yard field goal in the game . During his senior season , Gano kicked three field goals over 55 yards ( 57 , 64 and 65 yards ) and had a 71 - yard field goal made which was negated by a penalty . 36 of his 38 kickoffs were touchbacks and he averaged better than 42 yards per punt as a senior . College career . Gano attended Florida State University from 2005 to 2008 , playing as a kicker and punter for the Florida State Seminoles . During his senior year in 2008 , he finished first in the FBS for field goals made , percentage of field goals converted and 50 - yard field goals made , and was the Lou Groza Award winner as the nation ' s top kicker . He was one of only two kickers in college to make over 90 % of his field goal attempts in 2008 . He was the highest scoring kicker in America and fourth overall in the FBS in scoring . He also was a Rivals . com , Scout . com and CBS Sports first team All - American . Gano was listed as Walter Camp , Associated Press , Sporting News , SI . com and Phil Steele second team All - American . He earned All - ACC First Team honors as well . Gano was four - time ACC Specialist of the Week for his kicking performances against NC State , Virginia Tech , Clemson and Maryland . He also was a two - time Lou Groza Star of the Week honoree for his performances in Florida State ' s victories over NC State and Clemson . He was named offensive special teams player of the year for the Seminoles as selected by the Florida State coaching staff . He also led the ACC in field goals per game with a career - high 2 . 2 field goals per game average . Gano has the highest FG percentage in the ACC ; in 2008 he made 92 . 3 percent of his field goal attempts ( 24 of 26 ) and led the league in field goals made with 24 . He was also the ACC ' s leading scorer with 105 points and a 9 . 5 points per game average . Gano was also the only kicker in FSU history to convert over 90 % of his field goals in a season . He is the only punter ever to be named the MVP of a bowl game , when he was named the Most Valuable Player in the Champs Sports Bowl . He holds the Seminoles single season record for 50 - yard field goals , completing five straight attempts from 50 yards or longer . Despite only kicking for one season , he finished second in career 50 - yard field goals at FSU behind two time Lou Groza Award winner Sebastian Janikowski . Professional career . Baltimore Ravens . Gano signed with the Baltimore Ravens as a free agent immediately after the 2009 NFL Draft . After the Ravens named Steve Hauschka their kicker , the Ravens waived Gano on September 5 . Las Vegas Locomotives . Gano was signed by the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League after being cut by the Ravens . He earned the first points for the league after converting a 32 - yard field goal , and hit what was at the time a UFL record long field goal of 53 yards . He was also responsible for the winning field goal which gave the Locomotives the first ever UFL championship . He finished the season leading the league in scoring and field goals made . Washington Redskins . On December 8 , 2009 , he was signed by the Washington Redskins , replacing Shaun Suisham . He successfully connected on his first NFL field goal attempt , a 46 - yarder against the Oakland Raiders on December 13 , 2009 . Gano continued to play for the Redskins in the 2010 season . He cemented his status as a clutch kicker for the Redskins by contributing to 3 overtime game - winning field goals when playing the Green Bay Packers , Tennessee Titans , and Jacksonville Jaguars . Due to his inconsistency in the 2010 season , the Redskins brought Shayne Graham to compete . After a good performance in the preseason and horrible performance by Shayne Graham in the first preseason game , Gano was kept on the final roster before the start of the new season . In Week 9 against the San Francisco 49ers of the 2011 season , he kicked a 59 - yard field goal breaking the Redskins ' franchise record of 57 yards . At the end of the season , he made 31 of 41 field goal attempts with five of the ten misses being blocked kicks . On March 3 , 2012 , the Redskins tendered a contract with Gano establishing exclusive negotiating rights and guaranteeing him a league minimum salary . He was once again forced to compete for his job after the team signed Neil Rackers . Originally it seemed that once again , Gano kept his spot on the Redskins ' roster after Rackers was cut on August 27 . In a surprise transaction by the Redskins , Gano was released the next day after the team signed Billy Cundiff . Never a fan favorite due to his inconsistency , Gano earned the nickname " Oh , No , Gano ! " Carolina Panthers . On November 20 , 2012 Gano was signed by the Carolina Panthers , replacing Justin Medlock . He would play the last six games of the season under head coach Ron Rivera and would complete nine out of eleven field goal attempts . Career stats . UFL Career stats . " These statistics are accurate as of November 22 , 2010 . " NFL Career stats . " These statistics are accurate as of December 12 , 2010 . "