Forbath Signs with Dallas Cowboys

Kai Forbath was an All-American in high school and college, so perhaps it is his destiny is to play for "America's Team."

The Dallas Cowboys, one of the most successful franchises in the National Football League, signed the Palisadian and former UCLA placekicker to a rookie free agent contract Tuesday--exactly one month before his 24th birthday. The timing seems to be a good omen. After all, August is Forbath's middle name.

"This has always been one of my dreams [to play for a team like Dallas] so I'm very excited for the opportunity," Forbath told Patch. 

Life moves pretty fast in the world of professional football, as Forbath can attest. He was in Seattle for a workout Saturday, the Cowboys called him on Sunday, he flew to Dallas on Monday and he signed his contract Tuesday. 

"I'd just gotten back from Seattle, I hadn't even unpacked my bags, when I got the call saying they wanted to bring me in and rehab me there," said Forbath, who claimed he has already received hours and hours of treatment for the strained right quad he suffered about a month ago. "I'm a few weeks away [from being 100 percent] but I want to take the proper time to make sure the muscle is healed." 

Training camp opened last Wednesday in San Antonio, where Forbath will compete with last season's starter and former USC kicker David Buehler, and Dan Bailey, who was signed by the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent July 25. Forbath has known Buehler for many years, having participated with him at Chris Sailer's Kicking Camp, and he met Bailey in late February at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

"From what it sounds like, yeah, I'm going to be right in the mix," Forbath said about his chances of being on the roster when the Cowboys kick off their season September 11 against the New York Jets. "My injury came at a bad time and the quicker I get back, the better. I'm hoping for a speedy recovery, but ultimately it will come down to how well I kick."

Forbath and Bailey are the last two winners of the Lou Groza Award, presented annually to the best kicker in college football. Forbath was honored as a junior at UCLA in 2009 and Bailey (of Oklahoma State) got the nod over Forbath and several others last year.

Forbath was projected as the second-best kicker in the 2011 NFL Draft behind only Nebraska's Alex Henery, who was taken 23rd in the fourth round (120th overall) by Philadelphia. Henery wound up being the only kicker selected.

"I was hoping for the best [in the draft] but as a kicker you just never know what's going to happen," Forbath told Patch. "Not getting drafted definitely helped motivate me to work harder, though, and stay ready."

His senior year in Westwood was all about reaching milestones for Forbath, who earned second team All-Pac-10 honors while equaling John Lee's UCLA career record with 85 field goals. Forbath moved into second in career scoring at UCLA and his 31 career games with two or more field goals set an NCAA record. Forbath made 85 of 101 tries in his college career.

Forbath was accustomed to winning long before he stepped foot on UCLA's campus. He lettered all four years at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, where his clutch kicks and booming punts led the Knights to three straight CIF Southern Section championships.

In his last two prep seasons Forbath scored 213 points, made 26 of 33 field goal attempts (including a career-long 57-yarder), converted 134 of 135 extra points, had touchbacks on 150 of 188 kickoffs and punted for an average of 46 yards. For the Class of 2006 he was listed as the No. 1 placekicker in the nation by both Rivals.com and ESPN.com and he was a USA Today first-team All-American.

Forbath was born in Santa Monica and lived there until he was around 10, when he moved to the Palisades Highlands with his mother Susy and older sister Malia (his father Tom lives in Brentwood). He attended through eighth grade and became an avid surfer. His first love was soccer and he played club for Samba in the West Valley Premier League.

Forbath became the second Notre Dame High kicker currently signed with an NFL team, joining Nick Folk of the New York Jets. Coincidentally, Folk also started with Dallas--drafted in the sixth-round (178th overall) in 2007--and made the Pro Bowl his rookie season after setting the Cowboys' single-season record for points by a placekicker (131).

In February 2010, Folk signed a one-year contract with the Jets. He broke a franchise record for the longest field goal with a 56-yard kick October 17 against Denver. Folk booted a 32-yard field goal as time expired to beat Indianapolis in the AFC wildcard game January 8. Last week, he agreed to terms on another one-year deal to stay in New York.

Sailer, also a Notre Dame High and UCLA graduate, signed with the San Francisco 49'ers in 1999 and enjoyed five productive years in the Arena Football League before becoming one of the nation's elite punting and kicking coaches.

Click here to watch ProFootballWeekly.com's draft profile on Forbath.