Louis Hedley (born 26 June 1993) is an Australian professional American football punter who is a free agent. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

CCSF City College of San Francisco (CCSF or City College) is a public community college in San Francisco, California. Founded as a junior college in 1935, the college plays an important local role, annually enrolling as many as one in nine San Franci ...

before transferring to Miami (FL).

Early years

Hedley grew up in

Mandurah, Western Australia Mandurah () is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, situated approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's second most populous city, with a population of 107,641 as of the 2021 census. Mandurah's ...

and originally played

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

. He started playing juniors with the Mandurah Mustangs in the

Peel Football League The Peel Football League (PFL) is a country football league based in the Peel region of Western Australia. The competition was formed in 1992 when teams from the Metropolitan Football League and Murray Districts Football League merged. There ar ...

before five seasons with the South Mandurah Falcons in the

Metro Football League The Metro Football League (MFL) is one of two community based football leagues based in Perth, Western Australia. The league is made up of 10 clubs over one division. History Formerly known as the Mercantile Football Association, the leagu ...

where he was a premiership player. He played senior football in 2013 with Peel Thunder for a season in the West Australian Football League though did not break into the senior side. Known for his long kicking he was invited to join the ProKick Australia during that season, aiming for a potential American football career.

College career

Hedley played one season of

at City College of San Francisco in 2017, where he averaged 38.6 yards per punt. On 5 February 2019, Hedley officially signed with the Miami Hurricanes. 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. 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. During the 2020 season Hedley would punt 49 times, for 2,311 yards, and an average of 47.2 yards per punt. For his performance on the year he was named to the All-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC) second team, and he was named one of the three finalists for the

Ray Guy Award The Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding punter as adjudged by the Augusta Sports Council. The award is named after punter Ray Guy, an All-American for Southern Mississippi and an All-Pro in the National Foo ...

. 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. Hedley would also be named one of the ten semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award. 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. He was named a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award for the second year in a row. He was also named a semifinalist for the

William V. Campbell Trophy The William V. Campbell, formerly the Vincent dePaul Draddy Trophy, is awarded by the National Football Foundation to the American college football player with the best combination of academics, community service, and on-field performance. It i ...

. After the 2022 season, Hedley announced he would forgo his last season of eligibility with Miami to declare for the NFL draft.

Professional career

After not being selected in the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29, ...

, Hedley signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent. On 29 August 2023, he made the initial 53-man roster. Hedley was also drafted in the second round (13th overall) of the

2023 CFL Global Draft The 2023 CFL Global Draft was a selection of non-Canadian and non-American players by Canadian Football League (CFL) teams that took place on May 2, 2023. It was the third CFL Draft that pooled all of the global players together after previously ...

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 ...

. He finished his rookie season with the Saints with 75 punts for 3,224 yards for a 42.99 average. On August 27, 2024, Hedley was waived by the Saints after losing the starting job to rookie Matthew Hayball.

References

External links

Miami Hurricanes bio

CCSF Rams bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedley, Lou Living people Australian players of American football American football punters City College of San Francisco Rams football players Miami Hurricanes football players New Orleans Saints players People from Mandurah Sportsmen from Western Australia 1993 births