Texas High School Football Hall of Fame Inductees: Shane Lechler

Shane Lechler

East Bernard High School

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Inducted in 2014

Lechler was an all-district quarterback, punter and kicker at East Bernard, where he passed for nearly 5,000 career yards and led the Brahmas to the state quarterfinals as a senior. He also averaged 41.6 yards per punt in high school, with a best of 85 yards. He signed with Texas A&M, where he became a two-time all-American punter and set an NCAA record with a career average of 44.7 yards. Taken by Oakland in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, Lechler is currently the league's all-time leader in career average (47.6), and his 51.1 and 50.8 marks in 2009 and 2011 rank second and third in NFL history behind fellow Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh's 51.4 norm in 1940. Oakland signed Lechler to the richest contract for a punter in NFL history in 2009 (4 years, $12 million), but after 13 seasons with the Raiders, the nine-time All-Pro returned home in 2014 to play for the Houston Texas. Lechler was let go from the Houston Texans for the 2018 season.