JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- Like a lot of NFL kickers, Steven Hauschka has been, putting it nicely, well-traveled during a six-year career that has seen him suit up for six NFL teams and one UFL team.
He got his start as an undrafted Viking in 2008 and has wound his way through Baltimore, Atlanta, Detroit, the Las Vegas Locomotives, Denver and finally Seattle, where he'll play for the NFC champion Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
"It's been an interesting journey," he said. "I've learned a lot along the way."
In 2008, then-Vikings coach Brad Childress was looking exploring the possibility of having a young leg take over kickoffs from the aging, but still highly accurate Ryan Longwell. The Vikings didn't draft a kicker, but did sign Hauschka after the draft.
The idea of sharing the kicking duties with a rookie never set well with Longwell. But Hauschka said Longwell kept their brief relationship professional. Longwell also stepped up his kickoffs enough that the Vikings released Hauschka before the regular season.
"Ryan was a great, great kicker who had been through it all and had a great career," Hauschka said. "I learned a lot from him, especially the mental part of the game. Just how much it takes as a professional to perform at this level, all year round. You have to be constantly preparing yourself."
Hauschka wasn't sure what to expect when cutdown day arrived that summer. He knew he wasn't going to beat Longwell out for the place-kicking chores.
"I was young," he said. "I didn't really know any better. I was just trying to kick the ball as far as I could and hope someone saw me. I had nothing to lose and wasn't expecting anything. Sometimes, that's a good place to be."
