Nate Kaeding
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Career Summary
Nate Kaeding was an NFL placekicker who played nine seasons, primarily with the San Diego Chargers, after a decorated career at Iowa.
Kaeding entered the NFL from the University of Iowa and played nine seasons. He spent most of that career with the Chargers and finished with an 86.2 percent field-goal rate.
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Early Life
Kaeding was a native of Iowa City, Iowa.
Kaeding grew up in Iowa City, Iowa, before becoming a four-year letterman for the Iowa Hawkeyes.
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High School
He attended Iowa City West High School.
Kaeding attended Iowa City West High School in Iowa City.
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College Career
Kaeding was Iowa's all-time leading scorer when he graduated in 2004 and earned national honors as a kicker.
At Iowa from 2000 through 2003, Kaeding scored 373 career points, including 67 field goals and 166 extra points. He won the Lou Groza Award in 2002, earned first-team All-America honors in 2002 and 2003, and established several Iowa kicking records.
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Path to the NFL
The San Diego Chargers selected Kaeding in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft.
The Chargers drafted Kaeding in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft following his Iowa career.
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NFL Career
Kaeding appeared in 115 NFL games and made 181 of 210 field-goal attempts.
Kaeding appeared in 115 games across his NFL career. He made 181 of 210 field-goal attempts for an 86.2 percent conversion rate, and he made 352 of 354 extra-point attempts.
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Career Accomplishments
He was selected to two Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro in 2009.
Kaeding was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2006 and 2009. He was named first-team All-Pro in 2009 and was chosen for the ESPN.com and Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie teams in 2004.
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Playing Style
Kaeding's career was defined by reliable field-goal accuracy.
Kaeding made 86.2 percent of his field-goal attempts in the NFL. That accuracy included a 32-for-35 season in 2009, when he converted 91.4 percent of his attempts.
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Legacy
Iowa inducted Kaeding into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.
Kaeding was inducted into the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014. His Iowa career included the Lou Groza Award, two first-team All-America selections and seven school kicking records.
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Post-Career
After retiring, Kaeding joined Iowa's America Needs Farmers campaign.
In 2014, Kaeding joined the America Needs Farmers team, a campaign associated with the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and University of Iowa Athletics that raises awareness of farmers' food and energy contributions.
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20468, 00-0022737, 1982-03-26, Nate Kaeding, Nate, Kaeding
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