WATCH: Vanderbilt Student Nails $500,000 Field Goal on ESPN

 

That will help cover his four-year tuition.

A Vanderbilt student nailed a 33-yard field goal live on ESPN on Saturday, earning himself a $500,000 payday and some high-fives from the roaring crowd.

Tyler Hwang beat out 300 other students and was selected for the kick on College GameDay, hours before #10 ranked Vandy beat the #15 Missouri Tigers, 17-10. Hwang, as co-host Kirk Herbstreit held the ball in place, charged forward and smoked the ball between the goalposts, with the ball leaning slightly to the left as it sailed through.

He then let out some “Wooos,” did a golf celebration, and ran around celebrating with the crowd.

“Take the lap, kid!” co-host Pat McAfee urged him, before jumping up and bumping sides with Hwang.

Herbstreit later guessed that Hwang’s kick was so powerful it would have easily been good from 50 yards out — which is a pretty damn impressive kick, even by pro standards.

“That was the best kick we’ve ever had!” Herbstreit told Hwang in a post-kick interview.

“I’ve done it a few times before, [so] knew I could do [it],” Hwang told The Vanderbilt Hustler afterwards. “Same as every old kick. Didn’t process what was going on in the moment until after it was all done. Honestly, just super grateful for the opportunity.”

Hwang gets $500,000, and another $250,000 goes to charity.

The weekly kick — which

is a key segment for McAfee, a former pro kicker — is becoming a near 50-50 proposition at this point. Hwang was the fourth student to hit the kick this season, after Logan Pallo made his at Ohio State University in Week 1, Jack Daugard made his at Oklahoma in Week 2, and Carson Albright made the kick at Penn State University in Week 5. Maybe ESPN will move the kick back in 2026?

McAfee, in unrelated sports news, was one of many pundits this week who were blown away by the NBA’s gambling scandal, saying it was “CRAAAAAAZY.” 

Watch Hwang’s kick above, via the College GameDay X account.