Where are they now? Sam Paulescu

— Sam Paulescu: Football punter, 2004-2005

At OSU: Paulescu was the first punter in OSU history to receive First-Team All-Conference honors, which he attained his senior year in 2005 while averaging 43.0 yards per punt. He made the Ray Guy Award watch list in 2005, given to the NCAA’s best punter, and had a career long punt of 69 yards in 2004.

Now: Paulescu bounced around the NFL from 2007-2011, making seven different stops in that time including Denver, Dallas, Tampa Bay and Washington. It was immediately before leaving for a stint in Dallas that the Fullerton, Calif. native was introduced to his future wife, Laura. The two met through mutual friends in Portland in 2007, but after one get-together Paulescu headed off for Texas. The two kept in touch over the phone and then dated long-distance for the first six months of the relationship.

“We just had this long, long conversation and it was just different,” Paulescu said. “Within two to three months, I knew she was different and I could see her as my wife.”

They married in 2009 and now have two daughters, aged four and one. The family life has been a “roller coaster, but a fun roller coaster,” Paulescu said.

Paulescu, 33, spent some time coaching at a high school in Colorado after his time in the NFL ended. Once Paulescu started a career in sales, his brother-in-law floated the idea of selling recreational vehicles; now Paulescu works for Johnson RV in Sandy, Ore. It’s not the flashiest of jobs, but Paulescu has loved the last two years of his career path.

“I really enjoy it. I really do,” he said. “It’s been a huge blessing. For people that’s a dream to go camping, to travel around. It’s a want, it’s not a need, and I get to help people do that.”

On Twitter: @BrightTies

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