Stephen Carroll Gostkowski ( ; born January 28, 1984) is an American football former placekicker who played for 15 years in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the New England Patriots. He was selected in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Patriots, where he spent his first 14 seasons and became the franchise's all-time leading scorer. Gostkowski led the league in scoring five times during his career, including four consecutive from 2012 to 2015, and is the first post-merger player to lead the league in scoring for more than two consecutive seasons. Named to four Pro Bowls and two first-team All-Pros, Gostkowski also holds the NFL record for consecutive extra points. He then played his final season in the league with the Tennessee Titans in 2020. Early life Gostkowski graduated from Madison Central High School in Madison, Mississippi, in 2002. While there, he won four varsity letters each in football and soccer, and three in baseball, and was an All-State honoree in all three sports. Gostkowski holds the school record for longest field goal, a 55-yard kick. His teammates at Madison Central included former 49ers executive Parys Haralson and former Seahawks center Chris Spencer. His opponents included former Atlanta Falcons running back Jerious Norwood, who returned one of Gostkowski's kickoffs from two yards deep in the end zone; Gostkowski raced him down at the 25-yard line to prevent a touchdown. His most common nickname growing up was "Beaver"; he lost two front teeth playing hockey and had fake teeth that were too large put in as replacements. While at Memphis, he was dubbed "Gotti" by Tigers head coach Tommy West, because West could not pronounce Gostkowski correctly. College career Gostkowski attended the University of Memphis, where he played for the Memphis Tigers football team and majored in exercise and sports science. Gostkowski received an athletic scholarship to play baseball for Memphis, and was a walk-on for the football team. He finished his college career with a total of 369 points, a school record, and 13th overall in NCAA Division I-A history, converting 70 of 92 field goals and 159 of 165 extra points (PATs) during his Tiger career. His 70 field goals and 159 extra points both set school records previously held by Joe Allison (1990–1993). He earned first team All-Conference USA honors in both his junior and senior years and was named Conference USA's