Nick Novak

He is one of only three Maryland players to receive that award since its inception in 1979.

Maryland Coach Ralph Freidgen said, "I don't think there could have been a more deserving recipient for the Tatum Award than Nick Novak. Everything he does in his life is toward the goal of perfection. It has been a pleasure to see the effort that he has given both on the field and in the classroom and he is a tremendous example of the type of person and player we are looking for at the University of Maryland."

While at Maryland, Novak was a two-time member of the All-ACC Academic Football team, a three-time member of the ACC Honor Roll and made Maryland's Dean's List on three occasions.

Nicholas Ryan Novak (born August 21, 1981) is a former American football placekicker.

After moving to Charlottesville, Virginia in 1994, he attended Albemarle High School, where he was a letterman in football, soccer, and tennis.

In football, Novak was a three-year varsity letterman, twice garnering All-District and All-Daily Progress honors, and winning All-State honors following his sophomore and senior seasons.

Novak was also an All-District central defender on Albemarle's soccer team.

It was during a nationally televised game in 2001 against Georgia Tech that the then-redshirt freshman established himself, successfully completing a 46-yard field goal to send the game into overtime, and earning his nickname, "The Kick".

In the second stanza, Novak connected on a 26-yard field goal that ultimately won the game for a resurgent Terrapin team.

Novak would go on to establish himself as one of the more consistent and clutch kickers in the country; his leg keyed comeback victories against North Carolina State in 2002 and 2003.

Accordingly, Novak was frequently an all-conference specialist and a mainstay on the Lou Groza watchlist.

During the first game of his senior season, Novak became the ACC's all-time leading scorer, kicking a field goal and allowing him to surpass Scott Bentley's career total of 324 points.

Novak ultimately ended his college career with 393 points, which was best in the league and fifth-best all-time amongst kickers in the NCAA at the time of his graduation.

Novak was awarded the Jim Tatum Award by the ACC, given annually to the top senior student-athlete among the league's football players.

He is a three-time CoSida Academic All-District selection and was named the 2004 LeFrak Scholar, an honor given to a Maryland football player, basketball player, and track athlete who "exhibits extraordinary athletic ability, leadership and athletic achievement."

Novak was also a member of the Maryland Alpha chapter of Phi Delta Theta at The University of Maryland in College Park.

He played college football at Maryland and was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2005.

Novak also played for the Washington Redskins, Arizona Cardinals, San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, and Houston Texans of the NFL, as well as the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europe, the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League (UFL), the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) and the Los Angeles Wildcats of the XFL.

In July 2021, Novak was named Head Football Coach at Maranatha High School in San Diego, California after a season as Maranatha’s Special Teams Coach.

In January 2022, he was the Specialist/Assistant Coach on Jeff Fisher’s American Team Staff for the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

Novak was born and raised in San Diego, California.

Novak, an undrafted free agent, signed with the Washington Redskins in September 2005, and appeared in five games, notably hitting a game-winning extra point in the narrow season-opening 14–13 road victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football and coming through with a game-saving tackle on the ensuing kickoff.

Three weeks later in a 20–17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, he kicked a game-winning field goal in overtime, which kept the Redskins undefeated and atop the NFC East.

Since Novak was signed that year for the limited purpose of filling in for an ailing John Hall, he was released shortly after Hall returned to form.

Shortly after his release from the Redskins, Novak was signed by the Arizona Cardinals for kickoff duties while Neil Rackers hobbled through the latter half of the 2005 season.

Novak appeared in five games for the Cardinals in 2005 and was 3 for 3 on field goal attempts.

After spending the 2006 preseason with the Cardinals, he re-signed with the Redskins on October 10, 2006, again replacing injured kicker John Hall.

During a Week 9 22–19 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, after Novak missed a 49-yard field goal with 35 seconds left, Redskins safety Troy Vincent blocked a Cowboys field goal; Sean Taylor picked the ball up and ran it all the way to the Dallas 45-yard line.

Then, a facemask penalty was called which moved the ball to the Cowboys’ 30-yard line and gave the Redskins one more play with no time on the clock.

Novak then kicked a 47-yard game-winning field goal.

It was subsequently ranked the fourth greatest moment in FedExField history by Redskins.com.

On December 4, the Redskins released Novak in favor of Shaun Suisham.

After the end of the 2006 season, Novak was signed by the Chicago Bears and allocated to NFL Europa, serving as the placekicker for the Cologne Centurions in NFL Europa's final season.

He had a successful campaign in Europe, including a game-winner for the third-place Centurions.

After an impressive preseason with the Bears, Novak was released due to the presence of All-Pro kicker Robbie Gould.

In 2007, he was selected to be commemorated in a special edition poster recognizing the top 30 figures in Maryland football history entitled "A Winning Tradition", "honoring and paying tribute to the players and coaches who made a significant impact on the Maryland Football Program, both on and off the field over the past fifty plus years."

Novak was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs on February 18, 2008, after auditioning for several teams in the 2007 season, including the San Diego Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Chiefs.

On September 28, 2008, Novak kicked four field goals in a 33–19 victory over the Denver Broncos.

On May 4, 2018, he was inducted into the Albemarle High School Hall of Fame.

Novak attended the University of Maryland.