Tyler Hwang showed no signs of trepidation.<\/p>\n
Half a million dollars on the line. Pigeonholed inside a sea of people. One kick to change his life, broadcast nationally on ESPN\u2019s \u201cCollege Gameday.\u201d<\/p>\n
With one chance to make a kick from 33 yards Saturday in Nashville before No. 10 Vanderbilt hosted No. 15 Missouri, Hwang drilled it right down the middle.<\/p>\n
Hwang, a 2024 graduate of Dover-Sherborn High School who attends Vanderbilt, hit what ESPN\u2019s Kirk Herbstreit called \u201cthe best kick\u201d they had seen on Pat McAfee\u2019s kicking contest.<\/p>\n
Hwang, who hails from Dover, kicked for the Raiders\u2019 football team during his senior year in 2023. He also noted on the broadcast that he played soccer his entire life. He majors in chemical engineering and economics as a Vanderbilt sophomore.<\/p>\n
After Hwang celebrated, an astounded Kirk Herbstreit lauded him for \u201cthe best kick we\u2019ve ever had\u201d on the show.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said it\u2019s been two years?\u201d said McAfee, his left arm around Hwang. \u201cI think maybe you should start sending some tape out to colleges around the country. You murdered that, brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not an easy kick to make under any circumstances, never mind with everything that\u2019s at stake. Hwang\u2019s attempt left no doubt as it sailed through the uprights with ease.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably helping my parents help me out with that,\u201d said Hwang, on what the money will go toward. \u201cJust so exciting. Can\u2019t believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prior to Hwang\u2019s kick, $1.8 million had been paid out in prizes and another $1.45 million went to charity, combining for a $3.25 million payout. After Hwang\u2019s $500,000 prize and another $250,000 donation to charity, those numbers reached an even $4 million.<\/p>\n
Sarah Fuller presided over the festivities. Fuller was a goaltender on the Vanderbilt women\u2019s soccer team who stepped in to kick for the football team in 2020. Prior to his kick, Fuller instructed him to lock his foot.<\/p>\n