Kevin Huber
{{Short description|American football player (born 1985)}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{BLP sources|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Kevin Huber
| image = Kevin Huber 2021 (cropped).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Huber with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2021
| number = 10
| position = Punter
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=y|1985|7|16}}
| birth_place = Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 1
| weight_lb = 210
| high_school = McNicholas (Cincinnati)
| college = Cincinnati (2005–2008)
| draftyear = 2009
| draftround = 5
| draftpick = 142
| pastteams = * Cincinnati Bengals ({{NFL Year|2009|2022}})
| highlights = * Pro Bowl (2014)
- 2× Consensus All-American (2007, 2008)
- Big East Special Teams Player of the Year (2007)
- 2× First-team All-Big East (2007, 2008)
| statlabel1 = Punts
| statvalue1 = 1,011
| statlabel2 = Punting yards
| statvalue2 = 45,766
| statlabel3 = Punting average
| statvalue3 = 45.3
| statlabel4 = Longest punt
| statvalue4 = 75
| statlabel5 = Inside 20
| statvalue5 = 346
| pfr = HubeKe20
}}
Kevin Huber (born July 16, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a punter for 14 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Cincinnati Bearcats, twice earning consensus All-American honors, before being selected by the Bengals in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL draft. He currently holds the Bengals franchise record for most games played at 216.
Early life
Huber was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Immaculate Heart of Mary in Cincinnati for grade school and then attended Archbishop McNicholas High School in Cincinnati, and played for the McNicholas Rockets high school football team. He was a three-time all-conference selection and was named the Greater Catholic League's Punter of the Year following his junior and senior seasons.
College career
Huber attended the University of Cincinnati, where he played for the Cincinnati Bearcats football team from 2005 to 2008. As a junior in 2007, and again as a senior in 2008, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American. Huber holds the record for longest punt in Bearcats' history at 69 yards, which was set on September 17, 2007, at Memphis.
=Awards and honors=
- 2007 first-team All-American (AP,{{Cite web |date=December 11, 2007 |title=Tebow, McFadden highlight AP All-America team |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/news/story?id=3150439 |access-date=December 7, 2020 |website=ESPN.com|agency=Associated Press |language=en}} WCFF,{{Cite news |title=Walter Camp Football Foundation Announces 2007 All-America Team |url=http://waltercamp.org/index.php/news/walter_camp_football_foundation_announces_2007_all_america_team/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515231255/http://waltercamp.org/index.php/news/walter_camp_football_foundation_announces_2007_all_america_team/ |archive-date=May 15, 2008}} Sporting News{{Cite news |title=SN's 2007 college football All-Americans |url=http://www.sportingnews.com/exclusives/20071207/971576-p.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212012610/http://www.sportingnews.com/exclusives/20071207/971576-p.html |archive-date=December 12, 2007}})
- 2007 Big East Special Teams Player of the Year
- 2008 first-team All-American (Rivals.com,{{Cite web |title=Rivals.com 2008 All-America Teams |url=http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=887528 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216202823/http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=887528 |archive-date=December 16, 2008}} AFCA{{Cite web |title=Texas Tech's Harrell Headlines 2008 AFCA Coaches' All-America Team |url=http://www.afca.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9300&ATCLID=3627599 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207054447/http://www.afca.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9300&ATCLID=3627599 |archive-date=December 7, 2008}} FWAA{{Cite news |title=FWAA NAMES 2008 ALL-AMERICA TEAM |url=http://www.sportswriters.net/fwaa/news/2008/allamerica081213.html}} SI.com{{Cite news |date=December 16, 2008 |title=SI.com's 2008 All-Americans |work=CNN |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/football/ncaa/12/15/all.americans/?cnn=yes |url-status=dead |access-date=May 7, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214105626/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/football/ncaa/12/15/all.americans/?cnn=yes |archive-date=February 14, 2009}})
Professional career
The Cincinnati Bengals selected Huber in the fifth round with the 142nd overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft, and he has played for the Bengals from the {{NFL Year|2009}} season to the {{NFL Year|2022}} season.{{Cite web |title=2009 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2009/draft.htm |access-date=October 2, 2020 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} In his 13-year career, through Week 13 (Nov. 28) of the 2021 season, Huber has played 201 games and averaged 45.3 yards on 955 punts.{{Cite web |title=Kevin Huber Stats |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HubeKe20.htm |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}} He has also been the Bengals' placekicking holder for his entire career.{{Cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://prod.static.bengals.clubs.nfl.com/assets/docs/mediaguide14.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104040002/http://prod.static.bengals.clubs.nfl.com/assets/docs/mediaguide14.pdf |archive-date=November 4, 2014 |access-date=October 26, 2014}}
In Week 15 of {{NFL Year|2013}} against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Huber suffered a fractured jaw when he was blocked by linebacker Terence Garvin.{{Cite web |last=Bleier |first=Evan |date=December 16, 2013 |title=Bengals punter Kevin Huber suffers fractured jaw during 30–20 loss on Sunday Night Football |url=http://www.upi.com/blog/2013/12/16/Bengals-punter-Kevin-Huber-suffers-fractured-jaw-during-30-20-loss-on-Sunday-Night-Football/3151387200307/ |access-date=December 16, 2013 |publisher=United Press International}} It was reported that Huber had also suffered a vertebral fracture in his neck, and would miss the remainder of the season.{{Cite web |date=December 16, 2013 |title=Huber out for the season due to injury |url=http://www.fox19.com/story/24234721/bengals-kicker-kevin-huber-out-for-the-season |access-date=December 16, 2013 |website=WXIX-TV}} NFL head of officials Dean Blandino was critical of Ed Hochuli's officiating crew Tuesday night, saying it got the play wrong. Garvin's hit wasn't clean by rule and should have been deemed illegal. Garvin was subsequently fined $25,000.{{Cite web |last=Harvey |first=Coley |date=December 18, 2013 |title=Bengals punter: Big hits are 'part of the game' |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/10158504/kevin-huber-cincinnati-bengals-not-upset-hit-terence-garvin-pittsburgh-steelers |access-date=August 13, 2023 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}
Huber holds Bengals' franchise career marks for gross punting average (44.2 yards) and net average (39.1) through the 2013 season, as well as the season records in both categories (set in 2012).
On March 14, 2018, Huber signed a three-year contract extension with the Bengals.{{Cite web |last=Marcum |first=Jason |date=March 14, 2018 |title=Bengals re-sign punter Kevin Huber to 3-year deal |url=https://www.cincyjungle.com/2018/3/14/17121262/bengals-re-sign-punter-kevin-huber-3-year-deal |access-date=December 6, 2020 |website=CincyJungle.com}} On March 22, 2021, Huber re-signed on a one-year contract with the Bengals.{{Cite news |date=March 22, 2021 |title=Bengals Re-Sign Punter Kevin Huber |work=Bengals.com |url=https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-re-sign-punter-kevin-huber |access-date=March 22, 2021}}
Huber signed a one-year contract with the Bengals on May 2, 2022.{{Cite web |date=May 2, 2022 |title=Bengals Re-Sign Kevin Huber |url=https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-re-sign-kevin-huber |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Bengals.com}}
In Week 1 of the 2022 season, Huber started his 208th career game for the Bengals, surpassing Ken Riley's franchise record for most games played.{{Cite web |title=tweet|url=https://twitter.com/bengals/status/1569013601951703040 |access-date=August 7, 2023 |website=Twitter |language=en}}
On December 5, 2022, Huber was officially released from the Bengals after 14 seasons and after starting his 216th game.{{Cite web |last=Smith, Michael David |date=December 5, 2022 |title=Bengals cut punter Kevin Huber |url=https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/12/05/bengals-cut-punter-kevin-huber/ |website=Pro Football Talk |publisher=NBC Sports}} He was re-signed to the team's practice squad two days later.{{Cite web |date=December 7, 2022 |title=Bengals Roster Move: P Kevin Huber Signed to the Practice Squad |url=https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-roster-moves-kevin-huber-practice-squad |access-date=August 12, 2023 |website=Bengals.com}}
On July 7, 2023, Huber announced his retirement through his Twitter profile.{{cite web|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/kevin-huber-longtime-bengals-punter-retiring-after-14-seasons|work=NFL.com|title=Kevin Huber, longtime Bengals punter, retiring after 14 seasons|date=July 7, 2023|accessdate=July 7, 2023|first=Nick|last=Shook}}
NFL career statistics
| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" |
| colspan="2"|Legend |
|---|
| style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"|
| Led the league |
| Bold
| Career high |
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2"| Year ! rowspan="2"| Team ! rowspan="2"| GP ! colspan="5"| Punting | ||||
| Punts | Yards | Avg | Blk | Lng |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 || CIN
| 16 || 86 || 3,713 || 43.2 || 0 || 61 | ||||
| 2010 || CIN
| 16 || 71 || 2,992 || 42.1 || 1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 72 | ||||
| 2011 || CIN
| 16 || 91 || 4,023 || 44.2 || 0 || 71 | ||||
| 2012 || CIN
| 16 || 76 || 3,540 || 46.6 || 0 || 69 | ||||
| 2013 || CIN
| 14 || 66 || 2,982 || 45.2 || 0 || 75 | ||||
| 2014 || CIN
| 16 || 73 || 3,419 || 46.8 || 0 || 69 | ||||
| 2015 || CIN
| 16 || 68 || 3,116 || 45.8 || 1 || 67 | ||||
| 2016 || CIN
| 16 || 78 || 3,613 || 46.3 || 0 || 72 | ||||
| 2017 || CIN
| 16 || 88 || 4,101 || 46.6 || 1 || 63 | ||||
| 2018 || CIN
| 16 || 71 || 3,119 || 43.9 || 1 || 69 | ||||
| 2019 || CIN
| 16 || 75 || 3,394 || 45.3 || 0 || 63 | ||||
| 2020 || CIN
| 16 || 71 || 3,350 || 47.2 || 0 || style="background:#cfecec;"|72 | ||||
| 2021 || CIN
| 17 || 66 || 3,064 || 46.4 || 0 || 61 | ||||
| 2022
!CIN |9 |31 |1,340 |43.2 |0 |63 | ||||
| colspan="2" | [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HubeKe20.htm Career] || 216 || 1,011 || 45,766 || 45.3 || 4 || 75 |
Personal life
Huber has been married since 2017.{{cite web | last=Wood | first=Elizabeth Miller | title=Local Love: Kevin Huber & Mindi Naticchioni | website=Cincinnati Magazine | date=2017-04-07 | url=https://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/bridalbuzz/local-love-kevin-huber-mindi-naticchioni/ | access-date=2024-11-28}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{footballstats|pfr=H/HubeKe20}}
- {{commons category-inline}}
{{Bengals2009DraftPicks}}
{{2007 NCAA Division I FBS College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{2008 NCAA Division I FBS College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huber, Kevin}}
Category:All-American college football players
Category:American football punters
Category:Cincinnati Bearcats football players
Category:Cincinnati Bengals players