Giorgio Tavecchio
| No. -- Free agent | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Placekicker | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Date of birth: | July 16, 1990 | ||||||||||
| Place of birth: | Milan, Italy | ||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 180 lb (82 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Moraga (CA) Campolindo | ||||||||||
| College: | California | ||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2012 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2015 | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Giorgio Tavecchio (born July 16,1990) is an Italian American football placekicker who is currently a free agent. He was born in Milan, Italy and went undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft.[1] He played his collegiate career at the University of California.
College career
Tavecchio's original plan was to attend UC Davis after they offered him a soccer scholarship. After finding out that they wouldn't allow him to play football, he searched for other options. He then set up a workout at Cal but was only offered to be a walk-on.
He began attending Cal in 2008 and started the season opener against Michigan State just a few months after his workout. Throughout his first 3-years, he posted a 68% field goal percentage and was able to reach 75% after his senior year. During his time at Cal he was a four-year starter.
Professional career
Pre-draft
Going into the draft, Tavecchio was not invited to the NFL Combine. During the California Golden Bear's pro day, it began to rain before he was able to perform any drills. Tavecchio kept running his planned drills but was unable to showcase his talents since every NFL scout went into an indoor practice facility. Tavecchio remained unsigned after going undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft. He then attended a tryout for the San Francisco 49ers where he was the only kicker present.
San Francisco 49ers
On August 29, 2012, Tavecchio signed a 3-year, $1.44 million contract with the San Francisco 49ers. At the time, 49er's special teams coach, Brad Seely was looking for an additional kicker to eventually succeed long time veteran David Akers. The left-footed Tavecchio was chosen because Akers was also left-footed and they could both use the same holder, instead of getting another holder for a right-footed kicker. [2]
Green Bay Packers
After being waived by the San Francisco 49ers during the offseason, the Green Bay Packers signed him to a 3-year, $1.48 million contract on March 26, 2013.
Tavecchio was waived by the Packers on August 26, 2013.
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions signed Tavecchio to a reserve/futures contract on January 1, 2014. The Lions waived him on August 25, 2014.
Oakland Raiders
On August 27, 2014, the Oakland Raiders claimed Tavecchio off of waivers. Three days later he was waived.
On February 23, 2015, Tavecchio signed a contract to return to the Raiders. He was waived on September 5, 2015.
The Raiders signed Tavecchio to a 2-year, $990,000 reserve/futures contract on January 5, 2016. [3] He is the third placekicker of Italian descent since 1966 and the first since 1987.
On August 29, 2016, he was released by the Raiders.[4]
References
- ↑ "Former Cal kicker Giorgio Tavecchio signs with Raiders". San Jose Mercury News. February 24, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
- ↑ Luke Della. "Giorgio's Journey". CalBears.com. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ↑ "Giorgio Tavecchio Contract". Sportrac.com. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ↑ "Oakland Raiders Announce Transactions". Raiders.com.