The roar that followed Connor Kacena-Merrell’s second try said everything. After missing wide right on his first crack at a $1 million field goal, the Longhorn freshman stepped back up, drilled the 33-yarder and walked away with a $1.2 million prize after extra money was added to the pot.
Kacena-Merrell, an electrical and computer engineering and business freshman, pulled off the kick on Sept. 12 during ESPN College GameDay’s “Kicking is Easy” challenge. Before he ever lined up the attempt, he had already decided to donate half of whatever he won to Building Tomorrow, an international education nonprofit from his home state of Indiana.
For him, the day started long before kickoff. To be among the first 300 people eligible for the field goal raffle, he had to spend the night there.
“In order to be one of those first 300 people to be eligible (to enter into the field goal raffle), you had to camp out the night,” Kacena-Merrell said. “We had a tent set up; we had a cooler full of water and stuff to make sure that we were staying hydrated … and a lot of guys were laying on the grass trying to get whatever sleep we could.”
He wasn’t alone in chasing the chance. Aydin Paz, a statistics and data science sophomore, was there with more than twenty members of Beta Theta Phi fraternity. The group pooled their tickets to improve their odds and planned ahead for who would take the kick if one of them was selected.
“It was between Connor and I (who) were going to take the kick for (the guys in our group),” Paz said. “We had actually kicked and played soccer.
… Most people said they would give it to me. So, if anybody else in our group, except for Connor, (was pulled) … I would have (kicked).”
Two names came up before Kacena-Merrell’s, but neither turned into a live attempt because the kickers were either not eligible or did not show up. When his number was finally called on the third draw, he began celebrating immediately.
Outside the pit, radio-television-film senior Hope Elliott watched the scene unfold after missing out on the initial 300 spots.
“Once (the ticket was pulled), I assumed that it was going to be a pledge,” Elliott said. “Everyone was rooting for him, even the Ohio State people. … Matthew McConaughey really cultivated that environment.”
The first shot at the money sailed wide, but McConaughey pushed for another chance. He and host Kirk Herbstreit each added $100,000, raising the prize to $1.2 million. Kacena-Merrell made the second one count.
Paz was right there when it happened.
“I jumped over the fence, I ran and I gave him the biggest hug,” Paz said. “I pushed McConaughey out of the way to get to Connor.”
Kacena-Merrell said he expects his after-tax take to land somewhere between $300,000 and $400,000. He plans to use the money for his education and invest the rest.
“The best time to plant a tree was yesterday, but the second best time is right now,” Kacena-Merrell said, a favorite quote of his. “If you feel like you’re in a situation to give back and help people … don’t delay that.”
In Other News...
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Several of those flags came at damaging moments, from too many players on the field to a horse-collar tackle and a string of special teams infractions that changed field position and wiped away momentum. UTSA turned some of those openings into points on two drives, and Texas spent too much of the night trying to recover from self-inflicted problems instead of putting the game away on its own terms. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Faces A Colin Simmons Concern Ahead Of Tennessee
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The next real checkpoint comes Wednesday evening, when the first SEC injury report for Texas-Tennessee is released. Until then, Simmons remains one of the biggest questions on the Longhorns defensive side, especially with a trip to face Tennessee carrying plenty of attention and no shortage of stakes. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tennessee Just Got Pulled Into A Bigger SEC Debate
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The debate has been loud because the schedule keeps putting SEC games at the center of the sports biggest stage, even as GameDay has continued to visit other conferences too. Some fans point to the quality of the games the SEC has delivered so far and see a simple explanation, while others hear something broader in the pattern, which is why a trip to Knoxville is drawing more attention than a standard early-season broadcast usually would. [Read more 🡒]