Jason Sanders

BIOGRAPHY

Jason Sanders was born on November 16, 1995, in Orange, California. He is a kicker in the NFL.

In his early years, Sanders attended Villa Park High School where he was the 2013 Century League Special Teams Player of the Year as a senior. He averaged 45.0 yards per punt on 26 attempts for the Spartans with a long of 74 yards and eight inside the 20 and also converted 7 of 12 field goals with a long of 51 yards, and made 31 of 34 extra-point attempts. He kicked off 57 times and recorded 38 touchbacks and was a first-team All-Century League and second-team All-State selection for the Spartans as a junior in 2012. In the 2012 season, he punted 47 times for a 45.9-yard average, including one punt that went for a career-long 77-yards against Foothill on Oct. 5, 2012, and landed 20 inside the 20 yard-line. He made 8 of 15 field-goal attempts, including a long of 47, converted 43 of 46 extra-point attempts and had 81 kickoffs with 54 touchbacks. He also played on the Villa Park boys soccer team in 2012, scoring 13 goals and adding six assists in 19 games.

After finishing high school, Sanders committed to the University of New Mexico where as a freshman in 2014, he handled the kickoff duties for the Lobos in all 12 games this season, finishing the season with 62 kickoffs, while averaging 62.1 yards on kickoffs and recording 37 touchbacks. He also recorded four tackles during the season where the average opponent starting yard-line was the defensive 24-yard line. As a sophomore in 2015, he handled kickoff duties in all 13 games and placekicking in the first five. He went 22-for-22 on extra points including a Mountain West sophomore record 9-for-9 against Mississippi Valley State where he hit a 28-yard field goal in that game and hit a 32-yard field goal against Arizona State and a 22-yarder against Wyoming, going 7-for-7 on touchbacks. He finished the year with eight touchbacks on nine kickoffs against Air Force, with the only non-touchback on a pooch kick. His 63.9 yard average on kickoffs finished eighth nationally, his 69.7 touchback percentage finished seventh, and his total of 46 touchbacks finished 12th.

As a junior in 2016, he perhaps was the nation’s best all-around kicker, going a perfect 59-for-59 on extra points and 11-fo-12 on field goals, hitting his last eight in a row and leads the nation in touchback percentage at 83.8%. His 59 extra points easily broke the former UNM record of 49 and he also recorded three tackles on the season. Sanders was a two-time Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week, he won the award after the season opener going 6-for-6 on extra points, 2-for-2 on field goals and hitting eight of nine kickoffs for touchbacks and also won the award after going 3-for-3 on field goals against Utah State, including a 40-yard with 1:06 left that was the difference in a 24-21 win.

After he graduated from college, he entered the 2018 NFL Draft where he was selected in the seventh round by the Miami Dolphins, becoming one of two kickers to be drafted that year and being named as the starting kicker to begin his rookie season. He made his NFL debut in the season opener against the Tennessee Titans where he converted all three field-goal attempts and both extra-point attempts in the 27–20 victory.  In Week 6, against the Chicago Bears, he converted the game-winning field goal in overtime and in 16 games, Sanders made 18 of 20 field goals on the year, and this 90-percent field goal conversion rate was the fifth-best in team history. He also converted 35 of 36 extra-point attempts and was named to the Pro Football Writers of America 2018 all-rookie team.