It is often questionable when a talent who is being touted as one of the best at what he does gets overlooked by every franchise within his sport. Such is the story of Kai Forbath. The 2009 All-American and best college kicker was passed on by every single franchise during the 2011 NFL Draft. He was eventually picked up by the Dallas Cowboys shortly after as an undrafted free agent.
Kai excelled at both football and soccer in high school before he settled for the former in college. His time at UCLA brought him much needed recognition due to his performances, which included an unforgettable 54-yard field goal in a game against Oregon in his freshman year. He joined the Minnesota Vikings as a placekicker in 2016.
Kai Forbath’s Bio
The man from Santa Monica, California was born on September 2, 1987. Delving into sports in high school, he garnered a good record during his time at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks. Here, he posted good field goal accuracy, making 26 out of his 33 field goal attempts and scoring 213 points in total in his last two years at the school. He also once scored a memorable 57-yard field goal.
In 2006, Kai Forbath was selected to participate in that year’s edition of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl as well as the CaliFlorida Bowl. The prestigious Rivals.com named Forbath as the top placekicking prospect in the country in 2006.
He would eventually move on to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2006. In 2007, the youngster was off to a flyer after he made all of his 30 PATs, and 25 out of 30 field goal attempts, recording 105 points in the process. At least 5 of his field goals saw him become the first player in UCLA history to collect that number of 50-yard field goals in a single campaign. In his sophomore campaign, he was given first-team All-Pacific-10 honors for sinking 19 of his 22 field goal attempts, especially since the last 13 of those came in consecutive order. In his junior season, Kai Forbath received the Lou Groza Award which officially recognized him as the top placekicker in college football.
By the time the 2011 NFL draft rolled around, Kai was the No. 2 placekicking prospect in the draft. However, the exercise was not a good one for placekickers everywhere as only one player in that position was drafted that year. A few months later, however, on August 2, the Dallas Cowboys came calling. Due to the long-term injury he had as at the time of the signing, Forbath was immediately placed on the non-football injury list. He never played for or practiced with the team and was waived on April 16, 2012.
A day later, he went on the books of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he played for the team in their preseason before joining the Washington Redskins on October 9, 2012.
It was with the Redskins that he debuted his NFL career with a 50-yard field goal screamer in his first game against the Minnesota Vikings. By the last week of December, Forbath had set the NFL on fire as the first ever NFL rookie to convert 17 consecutive field goals.
After signing a $1.5 million right of first refusal tender with the team on April 15, 2015, he was released by the Redskins five months later.
He joined the New Orleans Saints on October 19, 2015, to replace the faltering Zach Hocker. He quickly began to assert himself in the team with some beautiful showings. These included a personal best 57-yard field goal in Week 12 against the Houston Rockets. It was the third longest field goal in the Saints history. He left the team for good on September 6, 2016, and was replaced by undrafted rookie placekicker Wil Lutz.
He signed a one year contract with the Minnesota Vikings on November 2016. Kai Forbath played some really good games including converting six field goals in a victory against the Baltimore Ravens on Week 7 of the 2017 season. In this game, he became only the third Vikings player to achieve the feat in their history. He was rewarded by the team with a new contract on March 20, 2018.
Kai Forbath’s Height, Weight, And Body Measurements
According to many reputable sources, the kicker stands at a height of 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m). He also maintains a gridiron-worthy weight of 89 kg (197 lb).
Other Facts About Kai Forbath
- Forbath’s middle name is August, which coincidentally is a month away from his actual birth month – September.
- In high school, Kai Forbath was also a punter and was even a member of the Los Angeles Times’ All-Star team for his efforts.
- He is a true athlete. In high school, Kai also played soccer. He was involved in the National Premier Soccer League.
- Although he was let go by the Washington Redskins, he left the franchise ranked second on the team’s record of most accurate kickers. He converted 87 percent (60 out of 69) of his field goal attempts with the team.
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