LANDOVER, Md. - Twenty-five years old, unemployed and staying with his parents, Nick Novak wasn’t exactly living the dream.

As recently as two weeks ago, the ACC’s all-time leading scorer and Albemarle High School graduate had no job and an uncertain future after failing to land a kicking gig with an NFL team this fall.

So Novak, who saw limited action with the Washignton Redskins and Arizona Cardinals in 2005, did the next best thing - he pretended he was back in the NFL.

He took Tuesdays off, just like they do in the league. He did his lifting and running early in the week and his kicking toward the end to be prepared for the game on Sunday - or in Novak’s case a workout on Monday, the day NFL teams usually bring in kickers for a tryout.

“I’m always optimistic,” said Novak, who used the facilities at Purdue University in Indiana where his parents are on faculty. “I just wanted to stay ready. Some people would say ‘Why don’t you get a job or something?’ I was confident that something was going to happen and I just wanted to make sure I was ready.”

So when the Redskins dialed his number last Monday after kicker John Hall suffered a strained groin and strained quad in Washington’s loss to the Giants, Novak was prepared. He made all 12 of his field-goal attempts, including a 53-yarder, to beat out three other candidates and rejoin the team he rooted for growing up.

Novak saw limited action in Sunday’s 25-22 loss to the Titans, kicking off three times and making both of his extra-point attempts, but was happy with his performance in front of the home crowd.

“The one kickoff to the 3 I think was the best kickoff I’ve had,” said Novak, whose kickoffs reached the 3, 8 and 10-yard lines, respectively, with none of them returned beyond the 29-yard line. “That’s where I’ve been kicking it [in practice] - inside the 5. I’ve got my locations down and I’m just glad to go out there and kick some balls.”

Growing up near San Diego and moving to Charlottesville when he was 13, Novak believed he could play soccer in college. As a freshman, he and his twin brother Chris started on the Albemarle varsity soccer team. It was only at the coaching of his science teacher, football coach Rick Vrhovac, that Novak decided to give football a try.

“I kept saying ‘You should come out and kick a football,’” Vrhovac said. “He said ‘Coach, I kick soccer balls. I’ve never kicked a football in my life.’ I convinced him to try it.”

Novak worked with Vrhovac in the spring of his freshman year, and practiced that summer with family friend Hayden Epstein, who went on to kick for the Univeristy of Michigan and spent part of the 2002 season with the Minnesota Vikings.

“I saw the success that Hayden was having. I was interested in doing it,” Novak said. “There was a senior [kicker at Albemarle] that was leaving. I said ‘Why not? Maybe I’ll get a scholarship out of it.’”

Novak quickly got the hang of the position, and Vrhovac knew that he would not have to worry about the kicking position for the next three seasons.

“You hear people say ‘Leading a horse to water,’” Vrhovac said. “Nick was a natural. I showed him what needed to be done, the techniques of kicking and all of that and he took it from there. He got to the water and he didn’t just want a sip - he wanted all the water.”

Novak earned all-state honors his first year on the job as a sophomore, repeating the honor as a senior. Although both his parents were teaching at UVa, Novak said the Cavaliers did not pay much attention to him during the recruiting process. He decided to attend ACC rival Maryland instead.

“They weren’t really interested,” Novak said of Virginia. “Maryland gave me a great deal.”

The kicker made 80 of 107 field-goal attempts and 153 of 159 extra-points, giving him 393 points for his career. In addition to topping the ACC all-time scoring list, Novak also has the second most field goals in NCAA history.

After graduating from Maryland in 2004, Novak spent six games with the Redskins in 2005 filling in for an injured John Hall. He made five of his seven attempts, including a 37-yard game-winner against Seattle in overtime. Both of his misses came on blocked kicks.

When Hall got healthy, however, Novak got the boot. He signed on with Arizona when kicker Neil Rackers went down with a calf injury, making all three of his attempts as a Cardinal, but was released when Rackers was able to return.

This season, the job is Novak’s to lose. Hall is out for the rest of the year and Novak is currently the only placekicker on Washington’s roster.

For the first time in almost a year, Novak is back on somebody’s payroll. He doesn’t plan on leaving it anytime soon.

“I was calm after that first extra point,” Novak said after Sunday’s game. “It’s kind of an old hat now. I have to go out there and act like a veteran.”

Contact Sean McLernon at (434) 978-7247 or smclernon@dailyprogress.com.