Sam Paulescu

Samuel Paulescu (born April 18, 1984) is an American football punter who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as a street free agent in 2006. He played college football at Oregon State.

Paulescu has also been a member of the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins, and San Francisco 49ers.

Early years
Born in Los Angeles, California to Romanian immigrant parents Nick and Persida Paulescu, he was fluent in Romanian before he could speak English. Paulescu played soccer, track and football at Whittier Christian High School in La Habra, California. He earned four letters in football and soccer, and two in track and field. He kicked a prep career-best 43-yard field goal as a junior, also scored 17 goals in soccer as a junior. In addition to kicking, Paulescu also played wide receiver, running back and defensive back. He was team defensive MVP as a senior and a first-team All-Olympic League in 2001 as a kicker. Sam played in the 605 All-Star game in the summer of 2002. As a junior, he scored three touchdowns, intercepted two passes and kicked a 43-yard field goal in one game.

College career
Paulescu earned first-team All-American honors as a punter and place-kicker at Fullerton College under head coach Gene Murphy in 2003. He was selected first team All-American by J.C. Grid-Wire and by J.C. Athletic Bureau, earned first team All-Mission Conference; first team all-California J.C. Region IV, and first team All-California as selected by the California Community College Football Coaches Association. As a place-kicker, Paulescu was the fifth-leading scorer among California Junior College players. He scored 73 points in 10 games (37-37 PAT, 12-17 FGs) booted a 57-yard field goal against Santa Monica, and was perfect on all three attempts over 41 yards. Paulescu made a 25-yarder in overtime to give Fullerton a 24-21 win over Riverside on Nov. 15. As a punter, he averaged 45.6 yards on 46 attempts during the regular season, with a long of 84 yards, raising his average to 46.5 yards after three playoff games. Paulescu also bettered his all-time long punt with an 86-yarder against Santa Monica in the Nov. 22 U.S. Bank Beach Bowl. As a freshman in 2002, he averaged 36.7 yards on 53 punts. Paulescu’s special teams coach at Fullerton was Jim Wren, who was USC’s punter in 1996 when Mike Riley was the offensive coordinator.

In his two years at Oregon State Paulescu ended his career as arguably the top punter in the program’s history. He was named to the Pac-10 All-Conference First Team as a senior, marking the first punter in OSU history to earn such lofty accolades. Paulescu averaged 43 yards per punt as a senior and ended his OSU career with 48 punts downed inside the 20-yard line – 24 each season. Of note: Pac-10 Special Teams Player of the Week in 2005 after having six punts downed inside the 20, including two at the 1-yard line, in a win at No. 18 California; 21 punts of 50-plus yards during his career, including a career-best of 69 yards vs. Washington State in 2004; began his senior year on the Ray Guy Award watch list; honorable mention All-Pac-10 as a junior and OSU Special Teams Co-MVP.

Dallas Cowboys
He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys after not being drafted in the 2007 NFL Draft. He was released before the 2007 season after not beating out Mat McBriar for the starting punting job.

Denver Broncos
On December 28, 2007 the Denver Broncos signed him after releasing Paul Ernster. Paulescu made his debut in week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings, making five punts for a total of 221 yards. On August 30, 2008 Paulescu was released by the Broncos.

Return to Dallas Cowboys
Paulescu was signed on October 14, 2008 as a replacement for McBriar, who suffered a broken foot against the Arizona Cardinals and was placed on injured reserve. During a home game against Tampa Bay while replacing McBriar, Paulescu delivered a hard tackle on returner, Clifton Smith, at midfield. Paulescu was released at the end of the season.

Washington Redskins
Paulescu signed with the Washington Redskins on November 6, 2009. After punting in one game on November 8 against the Atlanta Falcons (3 punts, averaging 50 yards per punt), he was waived on November 14.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Paulescu was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 1, 2009 due to the injury of Dirk Johnson. He was waived on April 26, 2010.

Return to Washington Redskins
Paulescu was signed for a second stint with the Washington Redskins on December 14, 2010. He replaced Hunter Smith, who was cut from the team the same day. He was released on July 28, 2011.

San Francisco 49ers
On August 22, 2011, Paulescu signed with the San Francisco 49ers. He was waived on August 30.