Taylor Russolino (born May 23, 1989) is an American

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

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 a free agent. He kicked an

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

-record 58-yard field goal during the

2020 XFL season The 2020 XFL season was the first season in the reboot of the XFL, and the second in the history of the XFL brand created and owned by professional wrestling magnate Vince McMahon, coming 19 years after the 2001 XFL season. The season began on F ...

Early life and college career

A native of

Metairie, Louisiana Metairie ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and is part of the New Orleans metropolitan area. With a population of 143,507 in 2020, Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish and was (a ...

, Russolino did not play football until his senior year of high school. Originally a soccer player, Russolino was approached by the high school football coach and soccer coach to kick for the football team as their normal kicker was playing in a baseball playoff tournament. After participating in a Ray Guy kicking camp, he dropped soccer after receiving advice from NFL kicker John Carney to pursue a football career. Russolino 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 ...

Millsaps College Millsaps College is a private liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. It was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History The college was founded in 1889–90 by a Confederate veteran, Major Reuben Webster M ...

at the

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

level, where he was a three-time all-conference selection, and setting multiple kicking records for the program.

Professional career

Early career

Russolino signed his first professional contract with the

Marion Blue Racers The Marion Blue Racers were a professional indoor football team based in Marion, Ohio. The Blue Racers began play as an expansion team in the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) in 2011, before moving to the United Indoor Football League (U ...

of the

Continental Indoor Football League The Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) was an indoor football league based along the Midwestern United States region that played nine seasons from 2006 to 2014. It began play in April 2006 as the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIF ...

in 2013. He signed with the

New Orleans VooDoo Louisiana Voodoo (french: Vaudou louisianais, es, Vudú de Luisiana), also known as New Orleans Voodoo, is an African diasporic religion which originated in Louisiana, now in the southern United States. It arose through a process of syncretis ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

in February 2014. He played in three games, going 11-for-18 on extra point attempts and missed his only field goal attempt. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on April 9, 2014. Russolino signed with the

Spokane Empire Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canadi ...

of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams amon ...

in March 2016. Russolino was drafted by the

Shanghai Skywalkers The Shanghai Skywalkers are a professional arena football team based in Shanghai, China. They are members of the China Arena Football League The China Arena Football League (), often abbreviated as the CAFL, was a professional arena football l ...

in the

China Arena Football League The China Arena Football League (), often abbreviated as the CAFL, was a professional arena football league that played its games in the China, People's Republic of China. It featured players from the now-defunct Arena Football League (AFL) and ...

draft in June 2016. Russolino was named to the All-Pro South Division All-Stars. He was also one of eight players named to the CAFL Fan's Dream Team.

Canadian Football League

Russolino signed with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) on October 26, 2017, to replace their injured regular kicker

Boris Bede Boris Bede (born November 20, 1989) is a French-born Canadian football placekicker and punter for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He first enrolled at Tiffin University before transferring to Université Laval. Bede ...

. Russolino played in two games, punting 19 times for an average of 38.3yards per punt, and making two of his three field goal attempts. He was released on November 30, 2017. Russolino signed with the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

of the CFL during training camp on May 18, 2019, and was released before the season on May 30, 2019.

St. Louis BattleHawks

Russolino was added to the

St. Louis BattleHawks The St. Louis BattleHawks are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha A ...

' roster in November 2019. While with the BattleHawks, he set the

record for longest made field goal, with a 58-yard field goal. While with the BattleHawks, he started a

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page for front-line workers during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, a group which his fiancée was a part of. He was named to the 2020 midseason All-XFL team. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Denver Broncos

Russolino was signed to the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

practice squad on December 7, 2020. He was signed after former punter and XFL broadcaster Pat McAfee recommended him to Broncos special teams coordinator Tom McMahon. Russolino was elevated to the active roster on December 18 for the team's week 15 game against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

to replace

Brandon McManus Brandon Tyler McManus (born July 25, 1991) is an American football placekicker for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He was a member of their Super Bowl 50 championship team, beating the Carolina Panthers, and as of 2022, ...

, who was in

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protocols, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. Russolino's practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 11, 2021.

Arlington Renegades

On November 17, 2022, Russolino was drafted by the

Arlington Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL (2020), XFL owne ...

of the

. He re-signed with the team on January 26, 2024. He was released on April 22, 2024.

References

External links

Taylor Russolino
on

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Millsaps Majors bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russolino, Taylor 1989 births Living people Players of American football from Jefferson Parish, Louisiana Players of Canadian football from Louisiana Archbishop Rummel High School alumni American football placekickers Millsaps Majors football players Marion Blue Racers players New Orleans VooDoo players Spokane Empire players Shanghai Skywalkers players Canadian football placekickers Canadian football punters Montreal Alouettes players BC Lions players St. Louis Battlehawks players Denver Broncos players Arlington Renegades players Sportspeople from Metairie, Louisiana