| No. 10, 15[1] | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Punter | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | (1979-09-04)September 4, 1979 (age 46) San Diego, California, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school | Bozeman (Bozeman, Montana) | ||||||||||
| College | Purdue (1998–2001) | ||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2002: 4th round, 109th overall pick | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Travis Edward Dorsch (born September 4, 1979) is an American former professionalfootballpunter who played in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for thePurdue Boilermakers, where he won theRay Guy Award and was recognized as a consensusAll-American. He was selected by theCincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the2002 NFL draft.
Dorsch was born inSan Diego, California. He attendedBozeman High School inBozeman, Montana, and was a letterman inhigh school football,basketball, andtrack and field for the Bozeman Hawks. He also played four years of American Legion baseball for the Bozeman Bucks as a starting first baseman and pitcher. He holds several state records including the longest field goal in state history (fifth-longest in the national high school annals) at 63 yards.[2][3]
While attendingPurdue University inWest Lafayette, Indiana, Dorsch played for both thePurdue Boilermakers football team and theBoilermakers baseball team. While playing for the Boilermakers football team from 1998 to 2001, Dorsch set many records including career scoring (355 points), career field goals (69), and career punting average (48.4). He became the firstBig Ten Conference athlete to be named as a first-team all-conference selection as both a punter and a placekicker. He was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American punter, having received first-team honors from theAmerican Football Coaches Association,Associated Press,Walter Camp Foundation andCNNSI.[4] He also and won theRay Guy Award for the nation's outstanding punter, and received first-team All-American honors as a placekicker fromFootball News andThe Sporting News. He is the only athlete in Purdue history to have kicked a field goal and thrown a touchdown in football, and hit a home run and recorded a win as a pitcher in baseball.[3]
Dorsch was selected by theCincinnati Bengals in the fourth round, with the 111th overall pick, of the2002 NFL draft.[5] He officially signed with the team on July 25, 2002. His only NFL game came with the Bengals in 2002. He had 5 punts, averaging just 32.4 as an injury replacement for starter Nick Harris. Dorsch was waived on August 31, 2003.[6]
Dorsch was signed to the practice squad of theNew England Patriots on December 10, 2003. He was released on December 15, 2003.[6]
Dorsch signed with theGreen Bay Packers on January 10, 2004, during the playoffs. However, he did not play in any games and was waived on July 30, 2004.[6]
Dorsch was signed by theMinnesota Vikings on August 3, 2004. He was waived on August 31 and signed to the practice squad on September 7 before being released on September 21, 2004.[6]
Dorsch signed a reserve/future contract with the Vikings on January 31, 2005.[6] He was allocated toNFL Europe, where he played for theRhein Fire during the2005 NFL Europe season. He played in all 10 games for the Fire, punting 39 times for 1,676 yards and an average of 43.0, earning All-NFL Europe honors.[1] Dorsch was waived by the Vikings on September 3, 2005.[6]
Dorsch signed a reserve/future contract with theNew York Giants on January 4, 2006.[6] He was allocated to NFL Europe again in 2006, returning to play for the Fire. He appeared in all 10 games, punting 50 times for 1,921 yards and an average of 38.4.[1] Dorsch was waived by the Giants on August 29, 2006.[6]
Dorsch is currently an associate professor atUtah State University in Logan, Utah. He pursued graduate studies at Purdue and completed his doctorate in Sports and Exercise Psychology in 2013.[7] After retiring from football in 2006, he has focused his competitive energies on the sport oftriathlon and has finished nine Ironman races worldwide.
As a professor, Dorsch is the founding director of the Families in Sport Lab at Utah State University and has published more than 30 scholarly articles, all of which can be downloaded on his lab's website:www.FamiliesInSportLab.usu.edu
Dorsch is also head coach of the Cache Valley Ski Team (CVST).