FB Legend Daniel Sepulveda Named to TSN’s 2000’s All-Decade All-America Team
8/4/2026 11:45:00 AM | Football
Two-time Ray Guy Award winner named top punter from 2000-09
WACO, Texas – Baylor football legend and Baylor Athletics Hall of Famer Daniel Sepulveda has been named to the 2000's All-Decade All-America Team, as announced Tuesday by The Sporting News.
The former two-time Ray Guy Award winner earned a spot as his era's top punter after an illustrious collegiate career that included consensus All-America honors after leading the nation with a then-school-record 46.5-yard punting average in 2006.
Joining Mike Singletary (1978-80) as one of Baylor's only two three-time All-Americans in school history, Sepulveda ranked second nationally in punting average in 2004 and third in 2005 after arriving in Waco as a walk-on linebacker in 2002. After redshirting as a true freshman in '02, Sepulveda found his footing as the Bears' punter in 2003 and racked up 87 boots for 3,750 yards (43.1-yard average), with 26 kicks surpassing 50 yards.
His next three seasons would go down as some of the greatest individual punting performances in the history of college football, as he averaged 45.97 yards per punt in 2004 on his way to winning the Ray Guy Award. In 2005, Sepulveda averaged 46.2 yards per punt and then became the first-ever two-time winner of the Ray Guy Award in 2006 after putting up a 46.5-yard average, a BU record that stood for nearly 20 seasons until current Baylor punter Palmer Williams broke it in 2024 with a 49.3-yard average per punt.
From 2003 to 2006, Sepulveda led his era with 12,531 total yards punting, which currently ranks 12th all-time in NCAA history. His 3,750 total yards in 2003 ranks as the 14th-most in NCAA history, and second among the 2000's seasons. Over his career, Sepulveda compiled an NCAA-record 94 career punts of over 50 yards, a record which he still holds.
Additionally, Sepulveda was twice named a First-Team Academic All-American in 2005 and 2006, becoming the only Division I player to earn unanimous All-America honors on the field and first-team Academic honors in the classroom in 2006.
Sepulveda was drafted in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he went on to play through the 2011 season.
The 2026 Baylor football season kicks off on Sept. 5 with the Aflac Kickoff Game against Auburn in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with national coverage provided by ABC. BU opens its home slate on Sept. 12 against Prairie View A&M, the first of a three-game homestand at McLane Stadium. Fans can purchase tickets for all home games here.
To stay up to date on all things Baylor football, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BUFootball.
THE SPORTING NEWS 2000's ALL-AMERICA TEAM
Offense
QB – Tim Tebow, Florida
RB – LaDainian Tomlinson, TCU
RB – Darren McFadden, Arkansas
WR – Larry Fitzgerald, Pitt
WR – Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech
TE – Kellen Winslow II, Miami
T – Bryant McKinnie, Miami
G – Dan Mozes, West Virginia
C – Maurkice Pouncey, Florida
G – Steve Hutchinson, Michigan
T – Joe Thomas, Wisconsin
AP – Reggie Bush, USC
K – Mike Nugent, Ohio State
Defense
DL – Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
DL – Terrell Suggs, Arizona State
DL – Julius Peppers, North Carolina
DL – Glenn Dorsey, LSU
LB – Dan Morgan, Miami
LB – Derrick Johnson, Texas
LB – A.J. Hawk, Ohio State
CB – Derrick Strait, Oklahoma
CB – Terence Newman, Kansas State
S – Ed Reed, Miami
S – Eric Berry, Tennessee
P – Daniel Sepulveda, Baylor
The former two-time Ray Guy Award winner earned a spot as his era's top punter after an illustrious collegiate career that included consensus All-America honors after leading the nation with a then-school-record 46.5-yard punting average in 2006.
Joining Mike Singletary (1978-80) as one of Baylor's only two three-time All-Americans in school history, Sepulveda ranked second nationally in punting average in 2004 and third in 2005 after arriving in Waco as a walk-on linebacker in 2002. After redshirting as a true freshman in '02, Sepulveda found his footing as the Bears' punter in 2003 and racked up 87 boots for 3,750 yards (43.1-yard average), with 26 kicks surpassing 50 yards.
His next three seasons would go down as some of the greatest individual punting performances in the history of college football, as he averaged 45.97 yards per punt in 2004 on his way to winning the Ray Guy Award. In 2005, Sepulveda averaged 46.2 yards per punt and then became the first-ever two-time winner of the Ray Guy Award in 2006 after putting up a 46.5-yard average, a BU record that stood for nearly 20 seasons until current Baylor punter Palmer Williams broke it in 2024 with a 49.3-yard average per punt.
From 2003 to 2006, Sepulveda led his era with 12,531 total yards punting, which currently ranks 12th all-time in NCAA history. His 3,750 total yards in 2003 ranks as the 14th-most in NCAA history, and second among the 2000's seasons. Over his career, Sepulveda compiled an NCAA-record 94 career punts of over 50 yards, a record which he still holds.
Additionally, Sepulveda was twice named a First-Team Academic All-American in 2005 and 2006, becoming the only Division I player to earn unanimous All-America honors on the field and first-team Academic honors in the classroom in 2006.
Sepulveda was drafted in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he went on to play through the 2011 season.
The 2026 Baylor football season kicks off on Sept. 5 with the Aflac Kickoff Game against Auburn in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with national coverage provided by ABC. BU opens its home slate on Sept. 12 against Prairie View A&M, the first of a three-game homestand at McLane Stadium. Fans can purchase tickets for all home games here.
To stay up to date on all things Baylor football, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BUFootball.
THE SPORTING NEWS 2000's ALL-AMERICA TEAM
Offense
QB – Tim Tebow, Florida
RB – LaDainian Tomlinson, TCU
RB – Darren McFadden, Arkansas
WR – Larry Fitzgerald, Pitt
WR – Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech
TE – Kellen Winslow II, Miami
T – Bryant McKinnie, Miami
G – Dan Mozes, West Virginia
C – Maurkice Pouncey, Florida
G – Steve Hutchinson, Michigan
T – Joe Thomas, Wisconsin
AP – Reggie Bush, USC
K – Mike Nugent, Ohio State
Defense
DL – Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
DL – Terrell Suggs, Arizona State
DL – Julius Peppers, North Carolina
DL – Glenn Dorsey, LSU
LB – Dan Morgan, Miami
LB – Derrick Johnson, Texas
LB – A.J. Hawk, Ohio State
CB – Derrick Strait, Oklahoma
CB – Terence Newman, Kansas State
S – Ed Reed, Miami
S – Eric Berry, Tennessee
P – Daniel Sepulveda, Baylor
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