Craig Hentrich

Craig Anthony Hentrich (/ˈhɛntrɪk/ HEN-trik; born May 18, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a punter for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He was selected by the New York Jets in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL draft, and has also played for the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Oilers / Titans. With the Packers, he won Super Bowl XXXI against the New England Patriots.

Hentrich graduated from Marquette Catholic High School in Alton, Illinois.

Hentrich lettered four years at the University of Notre Dame, serving as both the placekicker and punter. He finished his career with a school-record 44.1-yard punting average and had 39 career field goals (on 56 attempts) to rank second behind John Carney’s 51. Also, he finished his career ranked second on the school's all-time scoring list with 294 points, the most ever by a Fighting Irish kicker, and made a record 98.3 percent (177/180) of his PAT attempts.

Hentrich was drafted in the eighth round with the 200th overall pick in the 1993 NFL draft by the New York Jets, but was then signed to the Green Bay Packers.

In 1993, Hentrich spent the majority of the season on Green Bay's practice squad following his training camp release from the Jets on August 24. He was signed off the Packers' practice squad on January 14 for the NFC divisional playoff game at Dallas and was placed on the inactive list. He initially joined the Packers practice squad on September 7.

In 1994, Hentrich beat out incumbent Bryan Wagner in training camp for the punting job. He ranked fifth in the NFC with 24 punts inside the 20 and finished tied for seventh in the NFC with a 41.4 gross punting average. He was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against the New York Jets (11/13), which included a 70-yard punt. Hentrich also had the second-best gross average (44 yards) in Packer postseason history against the Dallas Cowboys at the time, a game in which he handled kickoff duties for the first time as a pro.

In 1995, Hentrich filled in as the field goal kicker for two games while Chris Jacke was sidelined with a hamstring injury. He made the first field goals of his NFL career against the Chicago Bears, connecting from 32 and 38 yards. Hentrich averaged 42.2 yards per punt to rank seventh in the NFC. He dropped 26 punts inside the 20, which was third in the NFC.

In 1996, Hentrich tied the Packers record for single-season net punting average, 36.3, previously by Bryan Wagner in 1993, and turned in the second-best gross punting average (42.4) by a Packer in two decades. He punted a team-record 28 times inside the 20 (stat began in 1976). He registered the second-longest punt in Packers playoff history (63 yards) against the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round. In Super Bowl XXXI, Hentrich punted seven times, including 58 and 54-yarders, in a win over the New England Patriots.