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It was听2012 and听former Buffs kicker Mason Crosby, who had seldom known anything but success in sports, feared his days in the National Football League were numbered.
After five strong seasons, the Green Bay Packers kicker was slumping badly. He鈥檇 made just 21 of 33 field goal attempts for听a humbling 63.6 percentage that put him near the bottom of all NFL kickers that year. Critics were calling for his head.
It didn鈥檛 seem to matter a whit that Crosby had been a key member of the Packers鈥� Super Bowl XLV championship team in 2010, in which he kicked four extra points and booted a field goal in the team鈥檚 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
鈥淚 definitely hit a rough patch in 2012,鈥� Crosby, a native Texan and two-time All-American at CU who earned Big 12 Conference player-of-the-week honors eight times his senior season, said in a recent phone interview.
But the Packers kept him on and the gamble paid off: Crosby bounced back in 2013, booting 33 field goals, including two 57-yarders. He鈥檚 fully rebounded to his old form and is now one the NFL鈥檚 highest-paid field goal and extra point specialists.听
鈥淚f you play this game long enough, bumps like that will happen,鈥� said Crosby, 31, who left CU as the Buffs鈥� all-time leading scorer 鈥� at any position 鈥� with 308 points. 鈥淚鈥檓 fortunate the Packers organization stuck with me.鈥�
In retrospect, the experience had an upside.
鈥淚鈥檇 never gone through a period like that, but I learned how to let go, clear my mind and move on to the next kick,鈥� Crosby said over the summer. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 enjoy that season, but in hindsight, I鈥檓 thankful for it.鈥�
He鈥檚 continued to perform well, and not just with his foot.听In a game last Jan. 3, Crosby ran down Minnesota Vikings kick returner Cordarelle Patterson, .
鈥淚 played free safety in high school, but hadn鈥檛 made a play like that in a long time,鈥� he said, chuckling. 鈥淪o in addition to all my field goals and extra points, that has to be one of the highlights of my NFL career.鈥�
Crosby 鈥� who is especially good at kicking field goals in the frigid winter conditions of Green Bay鈥檚 Lambeau Field 鈥� was handsomely rewarded this March when he became a free agent. The Packers re-signed him to a .
鈥淢y time here in Green Bay has gone fast,鈥� he said. 鈥淚听can鈥檛 really believe it鈥檚 been 10 years. But I鈥檓 glad I鈥檒l be staying a Packer and hope I can help get us into the Super Bowl again.鈥�
Among Crosby鈥檚 many fond memories of his time at CU, his 21st birthday stands out: That day he kicked the winning field goal, a 47-yarder, against Colorado State.
鈥淭hat was sweet,鈥� he said. 鈥淏eating CSU was always a lot of fun.鈥�
Freelancer Brian Clark lives in Madison, Wisc.
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Photographs by Evan Siegle/Green Bay Packers