(Harlan, IA) — Harlan graduate and former NFL kicker Billy Cundiff came back to his home town to speak this past Friday. Cundiff was a 1998 Harlan grad, then went to Drake and when he left had 15 Bulldog and 5 Pioneer League kicking records. He played in the NFL for 14 seasons and bounced around to 13 different teams not including the Cleveland Browns twice. Cundiff got to speak to the Harlan students about his journey in pro football and then about his life after his playing career ended. Cundiff says he did a number of different things to prepare himself for life after football
Cundiff was used to pressure as a kicker — it started when he was an undrafted free agent trying to make the Dallas Cowboys but made his first big kick to beat the St. Louis Rams on the final play of the game and was named the NFC’s Special Teams player of the week. To this day, Cundiff misses that pressure but he uses it in the business world
Cundiff played football in the big cities and now has settled in Phoenix but he says coming home makes him miss living in a small town
Cundiff played QB in Harlan for Head Coach Curt Bladt who is still roaming the sidelines; Cundiff’s center was Curt’s son and current Head Coach Todd Bladt. Cundiff says that continuity is hard to find
Cundiff says his biggest NFL highlight was kicking 7 field goals in one game for Dallas in his 2nd season and beat the New York Giants in overtime on September 15, 2003.
Complete Interview with Billy Cundiff
