#BestOfThe2000s: Jason Sanders

@UNMLoboFB on Twitter

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — He turned into as steady a kick as Lobo football has ever seen, and he parlayed a huge leg and a clutch kicking gene into becoming the career field goal percentage leader in the history of the Miami Dolphins.  In a stacked field, Jason Sanders was voted by the fans to the #BestOfThe2000s team as the kicker, becoming the 12th member of the 30-man team.

Sanders won over a solid and stacked field, and he won handily in a vote that saw over 400 Twitter votes cast, plus numerous others on Instagram.  Sanders overall won with 46.0% ov the vote, topping John Sullivan, who made a steady late charge to come in second.  Vladimir Borombozin and Kenny Byrd finished third and fourth respectively.  The next position up is the running backs position.
 

We have a kicker! Congratulations to @jasonsanderss on being voted to the #BestOfThe2000s team in a loaded grouping! What a bunch of kickers at UNM! Nominations for the next position will be announced at 2 pm! #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/YH68eeFJiC

— New Mexico Football (@UNMLoboFB) April 6, 2020

The series is a way to engage Lobo fans with the current situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sanders turned in on of the great seasons in school history as a junior, hitting 12-of-13 field goals. Included in that season was a 52-yard field goal into a howling 25-mile an hour wind at Dreamstyle Stadium that put the Lobos up 10-6 on UTSA in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl, a game UNM would win by just three, 23-20.  Sanders is also the owner of the longest walk-off field goal in Lobo history, one that ties for the longest road field goal as well.  In a 13-13 tie against Tulsa with three seconds on the clock, again against the wind, he hammered a 53-yard kick to give UNM a thrilling 16-13 win over Tulsa, a team that had won 10 games the year previous.

Sanders, who owns the Lobo record for career PATs (111), single-season PATs (61), consecutive PATs (82) and most 50-yard field goals in a career (four, hitting from 53, 52, 51, and 51), also had a reputation as one of the best kickoff men not just in Lobo history, but in NCAA history.  Sanders led the nation in touchback percentage at 82.1% as a junior, and he was third as a senior at 81.3%, becoming the first player with back-to-back 80% years in the FBS.  His career UNM field goal percentage of 71.4% is seventh all-time.
 

OK, this won’t be easy … running backs! We need your nominations for the #BestOfThe2000s running backs (we will have two on the team). We will take the best eight nominations and vote it out this week. Get them in by 10 am Tuesday, and here we go!!! #GoLobos

— New Mexico Football (@UNMLoboFB) April 6, 2020

Now he has moved on to star with the Miami Dolphins, going 41-for-50, and that 82.0% is the best in Dolphins history.  He has made four of six 50-yarders in his career, and hetwice kicked game-winning at the overtime gun, over Chicago and Cincinnati.  He has 104 touchbacks on 141 NFL kickoffs, and last season he caught a touchdown pass, the first kicker to do so in over 40 years, earning the NFL’s Play of the Year award.  He also set a franchise record the next week with seven made field goals against the New York Jets.
 

OK, this won’t be easy … running backs! We need your nominations for the #BestOfThe2000s running backs (we will have two on the team). We will take the best eight nominations and vote it out this week. Get them in by 10 am Tuesday, and here we go!!! #GoLobos

— New Mexico Football (@UNMLoboFB) April 6, 2020

Franchise record.

Congratulations @jasonsanderss pic.twitter.com/SRyuDcA6fS

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) December 8, 2019

#BestOfThe2000s Team (Selected by the Fans)