BERKELEY — A Cal student stole the spotlight during Cal’s first appearance on ESPN’s College Gameday.
Rocking black and gray checkered vans sneakers, Daniel Villasenor – a Livermore High alum – won the College GameDay Kicking Contest, knocking in a 33-yard field goal to win the $100,000 prize while raising $600,000 for Hurricane Helene relief.
“It was amazing,” Villasenor told the Bay Area News Group. “It was just an incredible moment. As soon as I saw it had a chance of going through, I went crazy.”
Villasenor missed his first attempt for a $75,000 prize, but show host Pat McAfee, a former kicker himself, gave the civil engineering major a second chance for an even large payout.
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The former high school soccer player said he had not kicked footballs from that distance before.
Immediately after Villasenor’s kick went through the uprights, he was mobbed by McAfee and GameDay’s co-host Kirk Herbstreit. The moment went viral on social media with Herbstreit’s X post garnering 1.2 million views as of 11 a.m. Saturday morning.
Daniel Villasenor attended Livermore High School. Prior to this kick, Daniel, a soccer player, had only attempted a handful of field goals in his life — never from that far.
He’d been at the Glade since 11 PM and was working off no sleep. His only sustenance was a donut. https://t.co/x4A6xR5zbT
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) October 5, 2024
