Florida State University Athletics
Florida State Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2013
Sebastian Janikowski came to Florida State in 1997 from Daytona Beach where the strength of his leg was legendary. A soccer star at Seabreeze High, Janikowski grew up in Poland moving to the U.S. just before the 10th grade.
Janikowski played three seasons for the Seminoles and by the time he left, his name was all over the FSU record book and he had completed a collegiate career that placed him among the best in the history of the game. He won the Lou Groza Award given to the nation's top placekicker as both a sophomore (1998) and junior (1999), but Florida State fans appreciate even more the 1999 National Championship Trophy he helped deliver.
Janikowski was a two-time consensus All-American and left as the ACC's all-time scoring leader and co-holder of the FSU record for field goals in a game with five against NC State as a junior. As remarkable as he was as a field goal kicker where he averaged a 76% career success rate, the value of his booming kickoffs to the Seminole defense were nearly equal. In 1999 alone, 68.7% of his kickoffs were not returned and a fair number of those sailed into the stands.
The Los Angeles Raiders made a rare move of selecting a kicker in the first round of the NFL draft when they picked Janikowski in 1999. Now a veteran Pro Bowler, Janikowski is in his 14th year with the Raiders.
