Lou Hedley
Louis Hedley is an Australian gridiron football punter who currently plays for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Miami.
New Orleans Saints | |
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Position: | Punter |
Personal information | |
Born: | Mandurah, Australia |
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) |
Career information | |
College: | San Francisco CC (2017) Miami (FL) (2019–2022) |
CFL Draft: | 2023G / Round: 2 / Pick: 13 |
Undrafted: | 2023 |
Career history | |
| |
Roster status: | Active |
Career highlights and awards | |
Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |
Player stats at NFL.com |
Early life
Hedley grew up in Mandurah, Australia, and originally played Australian rules football.[1]
College career
Hedley played one season of college football at City College of San Francisco in 2017, where he averaged 38.6 yards per punt.[2]
On February 5, 2019, Hedley officially signed with the Miami Hurricanes.[2][3]
Hedley played four years at Miami. He played in 46 career games, punting 208 times for 9,392 yards and an average of 45.2 yards.[4] In 2019, Hedley punted 64 times for 2,808 and an average of 43.9 yards per punt. He also had the only rush of his career going for 21 yards.[5] During the 2020 season Hedley would punt 49 times, for 2,311 yards, and an average of 47.2 yards per punt.[6] For his performance on the year he was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) second team,[7] and he was named one of the three finalists for the Ray Guy Award.[8] In the 2021 season Hedley would punt 49 times for 2,189 yards, for an average of 44.7 yards per punt. Once again for his efforts he was named second-team All-ACC.[9][10] Hedley would also be named one of the ten semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award.[11] In Hedley's last season in 2022, he punted 46 times for 2,084 yards and an average of 45.3 yards per punt. For his performance he would be named first-team All-ACC for the first time in his career.[12][13] He was named a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award for the second year in a row.[14] He was also named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy.[15]
After the 2022 season, Hedley announced he would forgo his last season of eligibility with Miami to declare for the NFL Draft.[16]
Professional career
After not being selected in the 2023 NFL Draft, Hedley signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent.[17][18] Hedley was also drafted in the second round (13th overall) of the 2023 CFL Global Draft by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
References
- "94 Lou Hedley". Miami Hurricanes. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- Abdeldaim, Alaa. "Miami Hurricanes Sign Coolest-Looking Punter Ever". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- Young, Ryan. "Miami signs Australian Louis Hedley, potentially the coolest punter ever". Yahoo. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- "Louis Hedley". Sports Reference. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- "2019 Miami (FL) Hurricanes Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- "2020 Miami (FL) Hurricanes Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- "Tigers, Irish Lead All-ACC Football Team". Atlantic Coast Conference. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- "Hedley One of Three Finalists for Ray Guy". University of Miami Athletics. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- "2021 Miami (FL) Hurricanes Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- "2021 ALL-ACC FOOTBALL TEAM". AccSports.com. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- Scultz, Nick. "Ray Guy award semifinalists announced". ON3. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- "2022 Miami (FL) Hurricanes Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- "Clemson Leads With 12 Selection to All-ACC Football Teams". Atlantic Coast Conference. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- "Hedley Tabbed Semifinalist for Ray Guy Award". University of Miami Athletics. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- "ICYMI: Miami Punter Lou Hedley Named a 2022 William V. Campbell Trophy Semifinalist". BCSNN. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- Peery, Wade. "Miami punter Lou Hedley forgoes final season of eligibility, enters 2023 NFL Draft". ON3. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- Kirby, Aaron. "Former WAFL defender Louis Hedley handed NFL lifeline by New Orleans Saints despite going undrafted". The West Australian. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- Sigler, John. "28-year-old rookie Saints punter Lou Hedley might be the most interesting man in the NFL". USA Today. Retrieved 6 May 2023.