Justin Palardy (born May 24, 1988) is a professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

who is currently a free agent. He was drafted 36th overall by the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

in the

2010 CFL Draft The 2010 CFL Draft took place on Sunday, May 2, 2010 at 12:00 PM ET on TSN. 47 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. After a number of tra ...

and was used as a punter. After being released by the Tiger-Cats, he was signed by the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

as their placekicker, where he played for four seasons. Palardy also spent some time on the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Startin ...

roster. In the 2010 season, he set the Blue Bombers single season record for place-kicking accuracy with 86.7%, a feat he would equal in 2012. He played

CIS football U Sports football is the highest level of amateur play of Canadian football and operates under the auspices of U Sports (formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sport). Twenty-seven teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athletic confer ...

for the

Saint Mary's Huskies The Saint Mary's Huskies are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their primary home turf is Huskies Stadium located in the centre of the University's campus. In September 2 ...

University career

Saint Mary's University

Palardy attended Saint Mary's University where he played university football for the Huskies as the team's placekicker and punter from 2006-2009. He earned AUS All-Star kicker three times, twice as a punter and was named to the CIS 2nd All Canadian Team. Palardy also earned rookie of the year for both the AUS and SMU in 2006 and was named SMU MVP after the 2009 season.

AUS records

Most career points (320) Most career field goal (65) Most career converts (116) Most field goals in a season (23)

SMU records

Most career points (320) Most career field goal (65) Most career converts (116) Most field goals in a season (23) Most points in a season (96)

Professional career

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

2010 season

Palardy’s first season in the CFL came with its highs and lows beginning with being drafted by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the fifth round (36th overall) of the 2010 CFL Draft. He began the year as the TiCats punter and played in five games for Hamilton, punting the ball 27 times for an average of 42.1 yards before being released in August.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

2010 season

He signed with Winnipeg in August 2010 and became their field-goal kicker after Louie Sakoda injured his calf muscle in a pregame warmup. Palardy connected on 26 of 30 field goals for a Blue Bomber single-season record of 86.7%.

2011 season

In his first full season with the Blue Bombers, Palardy played in all 18 games and connected on 40 of 52 field goals for a 76.9% accuracy rating. On four separate occasions, he kicked at least four field goals in one game and hit on all five of his attempts on Oct 28/11 against the Toronto Argonauts. Palardy also averaged 57.1 yards on 70 kickoffs. Palardy also kicked 100% in the playoffs making two field goals in the East Final and three field goals in the 99th Grey Cup.

2012 season

Palardy was once again a consistent point-getter for the Blue Bombers, tying the franchise’s single-season field goal percentage record of 86.7%, the same record he set in his rookie season. He started the year by missing only one field goal in his first 14 attempts and also had a streak of 14 straight between Sep 9/12 and Nov 3/12. Palardy completed 39 of 45 field goals overall and also averaged a career-high 57.3 yards on 70 kickoffs. He was named the CFL’s Special Teams Player of the Week for the second time in his career after connecting on all five of his attempts on Jul 18/12 against the Toronto Argonauts and was the team’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player nominee at the end of the season. His career field-goal percentage mark of 82.7% is currently an all-time team-best.

2013 season

Palardy started the season completed 9 of 12 field goals, before being replaced by

Sandro DeAngelis Sandro DeAngelis (born May 1, 1981) is a former professional gridiron football placekicker. He last played during the 2013 season for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. He had also played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, ...

in the middle of the season. On August 27, 2013, Palardy was released by the Blue Bombers.

Ottawa Redblacks

Palardy was signed by the expansion

on March 6, 2014. In two preseason games with the Redblacks, Palardy punted the ball 20 times for an average of 41.6. He also went 1 for 2 in field goals. Palardy's 44 yard field goal in Saskatchewan was the first ever made field goal in Redblacks history. Palardy was released as one of the Redblacks preseason cuts in June 2014.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On August 18, 2014, Palardy signed a practice roster agreement with the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

, after the Roughriders were looking for a veteran kicker to compete with kicker

Christopher Milo Christopher Milo (born November 2, 1986) is a former professional Canadian football placekicker. He was drafted 30th overall by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 2011 CFL Draft and signed with the team on June 1, 2011. He played CIS football fo ...

. Palardy was released on October 8, 2014.

Toronto Argonauts

Palardy was signed by the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

to a practice roster agreement on September 24, 2015 following an injury to incumbent kicker Swayze Waters. Palardy played in five games with the Argos connecting on 8 of 11 field goals and punted the ball 17 times for a 44.4 average. While with the Argonauts, he was teammates with fellow kicker

Michael Palardy Michael Albert Palardy (born July 6, 1992) is an American football punter who is a free agent. He played college football at Tennessee and was signed by the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He has also been a member of the ...

, who was also signed by the team in September 2015. They are not related.

References

External links

Toronto Argonauts bio

Winnipeg Blue Bombers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palardy, Justin 1988 births Canadian football placekickers Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Living people Ottawa Redblacks players People from Truro, Nova Scotia Players of Canadian football from Nova Scotia Saint Mary's Huskies football players Sportspeople from Nova Scotia Toronto Argonauts players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players