Daniel Sepulveda (2002-06) Was 1st 2-time Ray Guy Award Winner
3/9/2021 9:20:00 PM | Football
(This is the 18th in a series of features on Baylor Athletics' 25 for 25, which honors Baylor's top 25 athletes in the 25-year history of the Big 12 Conference (1996-21). Selected by a panel of Baylor experts, the final list was picked from a pool of over 100 candidates that came from all 19 intercollegiate sports that the school offers. Through April 1, two honorees per week will be released and will also be featured during game broadcasts on the Baylor Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.)
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Daniel Sepulveda came close to never playing college football. Think about that one for just a minute.
After battling through injuries as a senior linebacker at Highland Park High School, Sepulveda came to Baylor as an invited walk-on, only because his brother, Stephen, was already on the team.
"Anywhere else, I'm just another guy," he said. "Coming out of high school, I said to myself if I play football, I'm going to Baylor. My brother's there, so that's that. If I don't play football, I'll go to (Texas). Those were the only two colleges I even applied to."
A year later, as a redshirt freshman at Baylor, he earns second-team All-Big 12 honors at punter and ranks 23rd nationally, averaging 43.1 yards per kick. Put on scholarship for the first time after that season, Sepulveda went on to become a three-time All-American and the first two-time winner of the Ray Guy Award that honors the best punter in college football.
Daniel remembers constantly pestering special teams coach Scott Smith until he finally gave him a look.
"Now remember, I don't really know anything about (punting)," said Sepulveda, who hadn't punted since junior high. "He's talking to me about operation time, and this is all foreign to me. But, at least I showed him that I had a strong leg."
Yes, he did. Inducted into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame five years ago, Sepulveda set NCAA records for career punting average (45.24) and career punts of 50-plus yards (94). He holds three of the top four season averages in program history, including a school-record 46.49 as a senior.
Still, Sepulveda said it "took my breath away" when then-head coach Guy Morriss pulled the sophomore punter aside during the 2004 season and told him, "Hey, you can do this in the NFL."
"I was shocked to hear that from a guy who had played in the NFL for 15 years," Sepulveda said. "It gave me chill bumps, and immediately I was like, 'OK, I'm no longer interested in accounting. In class, I'm going to start googling about and daydreaming about the NFL Draft.'''
A fourth-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2007 NFL Draft, Sepulveda averaged 43.7 yards for his four-year career with 81 kicks inside the 20. But, his career was cut short by knee injuries, including a torn ACL in 2008 when the Steelers won the Super Bowl. He walked away from the game after the 2011 season.
"You have an opportunity to look at life through the lens of God's blessing you with opportunities and privileges that come from Him," Sepulveda said, "or you can play the victim and have a bad attitude. I don't look at the NFL as 'Oh, woe is me.' Now, I still have a flesh and human nature that longs for something to be different than the way it worked out. But, I really don't waste any time thinking regretfully about that time."
The hidden blessing of a shortened NFL career was that he got the chance to be a first-year law school student at 32 years old. Sepulveda graduated from the SMU Dedman School of Law two years ago and is now an associate in the Dallas office of Norton Rose Fulbright, focusing on corporate finance.
Daniel and his wife, Rachel, have a 4-year-old daughter, Belle; a 3-year-old son, Warner; a 21-month-old daughter; Willa; and are expecting another child in June.
"This is going to be invaluable life experience, make me a more useful member of society and a better father to my children and husband to my wife," he said. "Just using the gifts God has given me to the fullest, instead of kind of sitting back on my haunches, so to speak."
Previous:
Brette Reagan, Softball (2006-09)
Yossiana Pressley, Volleyball (2017-21)
Kiara Nowlin, Acrobatics & Tumbling (2013-17)
Johnathan Motley, Men's Basketball (2013-17)
Shea Langeliers, Baseball (2017-19)
Bayano Kamani, Men's T&F (1998-2001)
Jason Jennings, Baseball (1997-99)
Brittney Griner, Women's Basketball (2009-13)
Robert Griffin III, Football (2008-11)
Dawn Greathouse Siergij, Soccer (1997-2000)
Benedikt Dorsch, Men's Tennis (2002-05)
Corey Coleman, Football (2013-15)
Whitney Canion Reichenstein, Softball (2009-14)
Trayvon Bromell, Men's T&F (2014-15)
Stacey Bowers-Smith, Women's T&F (1996-99)
Andrew Billings, Football (2013-15)
Benjamin Becker, Men's Tennis (2001-05)
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Daniel Sepulveda came close to never playing college football. Think about that one for just a minute.
After battling through injuries as a senior linebacker at Highland Park High School, Sepulveda came to Baylor as an invited walk-on, only because his brother, Stephen, was already on the team.
"Anywhere else, I'm just another guy," he said. "Coming out of high school, I said to myself if I play football, I'm going to Baylor. My brother's there, so that's that. If I don't play football, I'll go to (Texas). Those were the only two colleges I even applied to."
A year later, as a redshirt freshman at Baylor, he earns second-team All-Big 12 honors at punter and ranks 23rd nationally, averaging 43.1 yards per kick. Put on scholarship for the first time after that season, Sepulveda went on to become a three-time All-American and the first two-time winner of the Ray Guy Award that honors the best punter in college football.
Daniel remembers constantly pestering special teams coach Scott Smith until he finally gave him a look.
"Now remember, I don't really know anything about (punting)," said Sepulveda, who hadn't punted since junior high. "He's talking to me about operation time, and this is all foreign to me. But, at least I showed him that I had a strong leg."
Yes, he did. Inducted into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame five years ago, Sepulveda set NCAA records for career punting average (45.24) and career punts of 50-plus yards (94). He holds three of the top four season averages in program history, including a school-record 46.49 as a senior.
Still, Sepulveda said it "took my breath away" when then-head coach Guy Morriss pulled the sophomore punter aside during the 2004 season and told him, "Hey, you can do this in the NFL."
"I was shocked to hear that from a guy who had played in the NFL for 15 years," Sepulveda said. "It gave me chill bumps, and immediately I was like, 'OK, I'm no longer interested in accounting. In class, I'm going to start googling about and daydreaming about the NFL Draft.'''
A fourth-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2007 NFL Draft, Sepulveda averaged 43.7 yards for his four-year career with 81 kicks inside the 20. But, his career was cut short by knee injuries, including a torn ACL in 2008 when the Steelers won the Super Bowl. He walked away from the game after the 2011 season.
"You have an opportunity to look at life through the lens of God's blessing you with opportunities and privileges that come from Him," Sepulveda said, "or you can play the victim and have a bad attitude. I don't look at the NFL as 'Oh, woe is me.' Now, I still have a flesh and human nature that longs for something to be different than the way it worked out. But, I really don't waste any time thinking regretfully about that time."
The hidden blessing of a shortened NFL career was that he got the chance to be a first-year law school student at 32 years old. Sepulveda graduated from the SMU Dedman School of Law two years ago and is now an associate in the Dallas office of Norton Rose Fulbright, focusing on corporate finance.
Daniel and his wife, Rachel, have a 4-year-old daughter, Belle; a 3-year-old son, Warner; a 21-month-old daughter; Willa; and are expecting another child in June.
"This is going to be invaluable life experience, make me a more useful member of society and a better father to my children and husband to my wife," he said. "Just using the gifts God has given me to the fullest, instead of kind of sitting back on my haunches, so to speak."
Previous:
Brette Reagan, Softball (2006-09)
Yossiana Pressley, Volleyball (2017-21)
Kiara Nowlin, Acrobatics & Tumbling (2013-17)
Johnathan Motley, Men's Basketball (2013-17)
Shea Langeliers, Baseball (2017-19)
Bayano Kamani, Men's T&F (1998-2001)
Jason Jennings, Baseball (1997-99)
Brittney Griner, Women's Basketball (2009-13)
Robert Griffin III, Football (2008-11)
Dawn Greathouse Siergij, Soccer (1997-2000)
Benedikt Dorsch, Men's Tennis (2002-05)
Corey Coleman, Football (2013-15)
Whitney Canion Reichenstein, Softball (2009-14)
Trayvon Bromell, Men's T&F (2014-15)
Stacey Bowers-Smith, Women's T&F (1996-99)
Andrew Billings, Football (2013-15)
Benjamin Becker, Men's Tennis (2001-05)
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