No. 37 | |
Career information | |
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Position(s) | Placekicker |
College | UCLA |
High school | Centreville (Clifton, Virginia) |
Career history | |
As player | |
1993–1996 | UCLA Bruins |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Bjorn Merten is an American former college football placekicker who played for the UCLA Bruins. He was a consensus All-American in 1993 as a freshman.
Merten attended Centreville High School in Clifton, Virginia. [1] [2] He played both kicker and quarterback in high school. [3] He originally planned on continuing the family tradition of attending the United States Naval Academy. [3] Merten wanted to be a pilot in the Navy but failed a depth perception test. [3] As a result, he decided to instead attend the University of California, Los Angeles. [3]
Merten was a four-year letterman for the UCLA Bruins from 1993 to 1996. [4] He won the starting kicking job only four days before the start of his fresman year. [3] As a freshman in 1993, he converted 20 of 25 field goals and 31 of 34 extra points. [5] He led the Pac-10 in scoring and field goal conversions that year, earning first-team All-Pac-10 honors. [5] [6] Merten was named a consensus All-American for the 1993 season. [7] [8] He scored 12 of 21 field goals and 24 of 26 extra points in 1994. [5] During the 1995 season, he made 10 of 16 field goals and 34 of 35 extra poins. [5] His 34 extra points were the most in the Pac-10 that year. [5] As a senior in 1996, Merten recorded 14 of 19 field goals and 38 of 40 extra points. [5] Merten led the Pac-10 in field goal percentage with 73.7% and in field goals made with 14. [5] He garnered first-team All-Pac-10 recognition for the 1996 season. [9]
After going undrafted in the 1997 NFL draft, Merten attended rookie minicamp on a tryout basis with the Washington Redskins but was not signed. [10]