There’s a seven-figure kicker in Austin, Texas today and it has nothing to do with NIL or the battle of the Longhorns and Buckeyes. College GameDay‘s weekly fan kicking tradition took a major boost when a big-footed kicker named Connor earned a $1.2 million payday. Not one for hoarding, young Connor is splitting his prize with a non-profit called Building Tomorrow. But time to see the iron leg.
Connor earns a massive payday
Connor has an ABSOLUTE leg, might be the best kick we’ve had! 💪$600K to him and $600K to charity 💰@PatMcAfeeShow | @KirkHerbstreit | @McConaugheypic.twitter.com/SeSEiAUmSV
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 12, 2026
Connor certainly built the tension, as he had a kick for a mere $1 million which was long enough but sailed wide right. He looked to his College GameDay hosts for another chance, and they delivered. Noe only did they deliver, but ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit and visiting celebrity Matthew McConaughey each upped the ante by another $100,000, making the payoff for Connor’s kick a cool $1.2 million.
The second kick was a thing of beauty. The left-footed boot had plenty of leg to spare and split the uprights to the delight of a raucous Austin crowd. CGD ended up in Austin because of Saturday’s battle of the No. 4 Texas Longhorns and the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes. But whatever big kicks might come in Saturday night’s battle, there may not be a bigger kick made than the one Connor drilled on Saturday morning.
Connor’s charity
Connor indicated that he’s splitting his prize with Building Tomorrow. That’s an international nonprofit organization that works in East Africa teaching children literacy and math skills. The company focuses mostly on rural Uganda. In an interesting coincedence, Building Tomorrow is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana– just like the NCAA.
Recent CGD kicking exploits
While CGD has had big payoffs for recent kicks, none on the level of Connor’s boot jump to mind. Last year, several students won six-figure payouts with their kicking accuracy. Notably, Vanderbilt student Tyler Hwang picked up a cool $500,000 for himself and another $250,000 for charity with his kciking accuracy…