No. 17 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position: | Punter | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | San Diego, California, U.S. | October 30, 1963||||||
Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 160 lb (73 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Helix (La Mesa, California) | ||||||
College: | Eastern Illinois | ||||||
Undrafted: | 1986 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||
| |||||||
Player stats at PFR |
Evan Anthony Arapostathis (born October 30, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was a punter for the St. Louis Cardinals in the National Football League (NFL). He played one season for the Cardinals in 1986. [1]
Growing up in San Diego County, California, Arapostathis attended Helix High School in La Mesa. [2] After two years at Grossmont College in El Cajon, he transferred to Eastern Illinois University, where he was both their kicker and punter for two years. [3]
In 1986, Arapostathis signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he was primarily used on kickoffs during the preseason. [4] With veteran punter Carl Birdsong and rookie kicker John Lee also on the roster, [4] the Cardinals eventually cut him. [3] However, St. Louis later cut Birdsong, and re-signed Arapostathis for the season opener. In his NFL debut against the Los Angeles Rams, he punted eight times and kicked off twice. [3] Arapostathis played for five games before St. Louis cut him, signing Greg Cater as his replacement. Arapostathis averaged 38.0 yards on 30 punts, and was ranked 13th out of 14 punters in the National Football Conference with a net average of 32.5. [5]
In 1987, he signed with the Denver Broncos as a replacement player during the NFL strike that season. [6]
Arapostathis was a graduate assistant for the San Diego State Aztecs, overseeing their kickers. [7] He ran the ABCD Kicking Camps with former NFL kicking specialists Darren Bennett, John Carney and Brad Daluiso. [8] He later worked in the information technology industry before returning to football in 2019 as the vice president for the San Diego Strike Force of the Indoor Football League. [9] [10]
Darren Bennett is a former Australian rules football player and American football punter who played in the National Football League (NFL).
Joseph Thomas Nedney is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at San Jose State and signed as an undrafted player with the Miami Dolphins in 1996. Nedney played for the San Francisco 49ers from 2005 to 2010 after having played for the Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, and Tennessee Titans.
John Michael Carney is an American former professional football kicker who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 1987.
The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). This season featured games predominantly played by replacement players, as the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) players were on strike from weeks four to six with week three being cancelled in its entirety. This remains the last NFL season in which regular-season games were impacted by a labor conflict.
Nicholas Ryan Novak is a former American football placekicker. He played college football at Maryland and was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2005.
Neil William Rackers is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini. Rackers was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft, and also played for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans.
Donald David Coryell was an American football coach. He coached in high school, college, and the professional ranks; his most notable NCAA post was with the San Diego State Aztecs, then he moved on to the National Football League (NFL), first with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1973 to 1977 and then the San Diego Chargers from 1978 to 1986. Well known for his innovations in football's passing game, in particular the Air Coryell offense he created with the Chargers, Coryell was the first head coach to win more than 100 games at both the collegiate and professional levels. He was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame in 1994, the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023.
Mark Alan Royals is a former American football punter in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints, Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars. He played college football at Appalachian State University.
John Lee is a Korean former American football placekicker. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, where he was a two-time All-American. Lee was selected in the second round of the 1986 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals with the 32nd overall pick. He played one season with the Cardinals and was the first Korean to play in the NFL. He was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.
Rodney Douglas Dowhower is a former American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Stanford University and Vanderbilt University; in between he was the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL).
Matthew Phillip Prater is an American football placekicker for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Regarded as one of the best long distance kickers in NFL history, he held the NFL record for longest field goal from 2013 until 2021 and holds the NFL record for most 50+ yard field goals in a career, 80 as of 2023.
Dale Roger Livingston was an American football kicker and punter who became the starting kicker/punter on the Cincinnati Bengals first-team in 1968.
Greg Davis is a former National Football League (NFL) kicker who played for 12 seasons from 1987–1998 with the Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings, San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders.
Ricky William Schmitt is a former gridiron football punter and place kicker. He was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Shepherd University.
The 1987 San Diego Chargers was the franchise's 18th season in the National Football League (NFL), and the 28th overall. The team improved on their 4–12 record in 1986, finishing 8–7 but missing the playoffs. The strike of 1987 reduced the regular season schedule from sixteen to fifteen games. The Chargers started the season 8–1, with victories over eventual division winners Indianapolis and Cleveland, before collapsing to lose their final six games of the season, narrowly missing the playoffs. All but one of their final six losses came to teams that made the postseason in 1987.
Ronnie Carl Monaco is an American former football linebacker who played two seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the San Diego State Aztecs, Vanderbilt Commodores, Northwest Mississippi Rangers and South Carolina Gamecocks. He saw limited action in college but nonetheless was able to sign with the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals and made the team in 1986. He later spent time with the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs.
Don Hageman III is an American football placekicker who is a free agent. He played college football at San Diego State.
Elliott Goering Fry is an American football placekicker who is a free agent. He played college football at South Carolina. He has played for the Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, and the Alliance of American Football (AAF)'s Orlando Apollos.
Matthew Ryan Araiza is an American football punter for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the San Diego State Aztecs, setting the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) season record for average punt yardage as a junior. Araiza entered the National Football League (NFL) as a sixth-round selection by the Buffalo Bills in the 2022 NFL draft, but he was released prior to the 2022 season after being accused in a lawsuit of gang rape. The San Diego County District Attorney declined to press criminal charges.
Cedric Oglesby is an American former football placekicker who played one season in the National Football League (NFL) for the Arizona Cardinals. He played college football for the South Carolina State Bulldogs and also had stints in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers. He was one of the first African-American kickers in the NFL.
'All week long Andy was kicking low drives and was struggling in practice,' said Evan Arapostathis, the graduate assistant who oversees the kicking game.