Hugh O'Neill (Canadian football)

Last updated
Hugh O'Neill
No. 70     Edmonton Football Team
Born: (1990-01-20) January 20, 1990 (age 31)
Edmonton, Alberta
Career information
StatusActive
CFL status National
Position(s) Punter/Placekicker
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight185 lb (84 kg)
University Alberta Golden Bears
High school Ross Sheppard
CFL draft 2011 / Round: 2 / Pick: 11
Drafted by BC Lions
Career history
As player
2011–2013 BC Lions
2013–2014 Edmonton Eskimos
2015 Saskatchewan Roughriders*
2015 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
2017–present Edmonton Football Team
*Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career stats

Hugh O'Neill (born January 20, 1990) is a professional Canadian football punter and placekicker for the Edmonton Football Team of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was originally drafted 11th overall by the BC Lions in the 2011 CFL Draft and spent parts of three seasons with the team. He has also been a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He played CIS football with the Alberta Golden Bears.

Contents

Professional career

BC Lions

In the Canadian Football League’s Amateur Scouting Bureau final rankings, O'Neill was ranked as the eighth best player for players eligible in the 2011 draft, and fifth by players in Canadian Interuniversity Sport. [1] O'Neill was drafted in the second round and 11th overall by the BC Lions in the 2011 CFL Draft and was signed by the team on May 30, 2011. [2] His first two years with the BC Lions were spent on the injured list, a conventional way in the CFL to hide players from the salary cap while keeping the player protected from poaching by other teams. In his third year (2013 season) the team restructured the contract of the incumbent Paul McCallum so that O'Neill and McCallum could share the role. In the first exhibition game of that season in Calgary, he kicked five field goals, including a 47-yard attempt in the driving rain that went in off the crossbar to win the game with less than a minute left. He played the second exhibition game as well when McCallum picked up a last-minute injury in the pregame warm up, but got no field attempts in that game. McCallum's injury was serious enough to keep him out of the first regular season game, so on June 28, 2013, O'Neill suited up for his first regular season game. On August 16, 2013, entering Week 8 of the 2013 CFL season, the Lions released O'Neill due to a contract dispute. [3]

Edmonton Eskimos

On August 19, 2013, he was signed by his hometown Edmonton Eskimos. [4] On August 24, 2013, he was assigned to do the field goal kicking, with incumbent Grant Shaw handling the punting and kickoffs. O'Neill was good on his first attempt as an Eskimo, from 46 yards out, and on his second, a 42-yarder in the fourth quarter. [5] Including that game, he was the Eskimos' placekicker for seven games in the 2013 season, making 11 of 16 field goal attempts. He returned to the Eskimos in 2014, but remained off the game day roster to begin the season as Shaw had won all three kicking duties. Following an injury to Shaw in the Labour Day Classic on September 1, 2014, O'Neill took over placekicking, punting, and kickoffs for the rest of the season, playing in eight regular season games and both Eskimos' playoff games. He connected on 20 of 26 field goal attempts while averaging 44.4 yards-per-punt. The Eskimos released O'Neill on January 21, 2015. [6]

Saskatchewan Roughriders

O'Neill signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders on February 3, 2015. [7] He was released June 20, 2015 after the final pre-season game against Calgary on June 19, 2015. [8]

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

O'Neill signed a practice roster agreement with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on June 30, 2015. [9] He played in his first game as a Tiger-Cat on July 2, 2015, recording two punts for a 38.5 yard average. He played in eight games for the team where he punted 37 times for a 42.9-yard average. He became a free agent on February 9, 2016. [10]

Edmonton Eskimos (II)

After not playing in 2016, O'Neill signed with the Edmonton Eskimos on July 24, 2017 to serve as a back-up kicker behind Sean Whyte. [11] His signing proved prudent as Whyte was injured in the next game and O'Neill was activated for the August 4, 2017 game against the Tiger-Cats where he was 2-for-2 on field goal attempts, 3-for-4 on extra-point attempts, and had four points for an average of 49.0 yards. [12] The Eskimos then signed Christopher Milo on September 2, 2017 to handle the placekicking while O'Neill remained the team's punter. [13] O'Neill played in 13 regular season game and both of the team's post-season games as he averaged 45.1 yards on 73 punts in the regular season and had 12 punts for a 45.6-yard average in the post-season. [14]

In 2018, O'Neill played in all 18 regular season games for the first time in his professional career where he was the team's punter as Whyte returned from injury as the team's placekicker. This season, he had a career-high 107 punts for a career-best 45.2-yard average. [14] He played in 12 regular season games in 2019 where he had 80 punts for an average of 45.1 yards per punt. [14]

With the 2020 CFL season cancelled, he did not play in 2020, but signed a contract extension with Edmonton on February 5, 2021. [15]

Related Research Articles

Paul McCallum is a former Canadian football punter and placekicker. McCallum had been a member of four different CFL franchises, one XFL team, an NFL Europa team, and a Scottish third division club. At the time of his retirement, McCallum was the oldest active player in the CFL, having played in 23 seasons over the course of his career.

The 2005 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 52nd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 48th Canadian Football League season.

The 2004 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 51st season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 47th Canadian Football League season.

The 2006 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 53rd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 49th Canadian Football League season.

Damon Duval

Damon Duval is an American former professional placekicker and punter. Duval played college football for Auburn University, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. He played professionally for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL), and the Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

The 2008 Canadian Football League season was the 55th season of modern Canadian professional football. Officially, it was the 51st season for the league. It was also the first CFL season in which all of the league's regular season and post-season games, including the Grey Cup game, were aired on TSN. This meant the CFL was no longer aired on broadcast television in Canada. As of 2008, TSN was available in approximately 8.8 million of Canada's 13 million households. Montreal hosted the 96th Grey Cup at Olympic Stadium on November 23, when the championship was won by the Calgary Stampeders.

Luca Congi

Luca Congi is a former professional Canadian football punter/placekicker. He was drafted 12th overall by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 2006 CFL Draft. He played CIS football at Simon Fraser University for the Simon Fraser Clan.

Henry "Hank" Ilesic is a former all-star punter in the Canadian Football League. He also handled place kicking and kickoffs. He was twice an all-star punter and played in the CFL for 19 seasons. He played on seven Grey Cup winning teams, and retired in 2001. He remains third overall for Most Punting Yards, All-Time Regular Season. He played one season in the National Football League.

Justin Medlock American football placekicker

Justin Charles Medlock is an American professional football player who is a placekicker for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and earned consensus All-American honors. The Kansas City Chiefs selected him in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Medlock has also played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Toronto Argonauts and Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL, as well as the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL).

Jamie Boreham

Jamie Boreham is the head coach of the Okanagan Sun of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) and is a former professional Canadian football punter and placekicker. He played for eight seasons in the Canadian Football League and was a member of the 95th Grey Cup championship team with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He also played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Toronto Argonauts, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The 2010 Canadian Football League season is the 57th season of modern Canadian professional football. Officially, it is the 53rd season of the league. Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton hosted the 98th Grey Cup on November 28 when the Montreal Alouettes became the first team to repeat as Grey Cup Champions in 13 years, defeating the Saskatchewan Roughriders, 21–18. The league announced on its Twitter page on January 29, 2010 that the season would start on July 1, 2010. As of 2019 this is the most recent CFL regular season to start in July.

The 2011 Canadian Football League season was the 58th season of modern Canadian professional football. Officially, it was the 54th season of the league. The complete schedule was released on February 18 and featured the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes opening the season against the visiting BC Lions on Thursday, June 30, 2011. The season was among the most notable in the modern era for the competitiveness of the teams; going into the final week, five teams were tied for first place in the league, a first in modern CFL history. It was also the first time since 1982 that all teams finished with fewer than 12 wins in the regular season. As well, for the first time since 1950, the start of the modern era, all four teams competing in the divisional finals were different from the four teams that had competed in the division finals the previous year. Newly renovated BC Place Stadium in Vancouver hosted the 99th Grey Cup on November 27, with the hometown Lions defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 34–23 in front of a sold-out crowd.

Christopher Milo

Christopher Milo 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 for the Laval Rouge et Or. During his college career, Milo won the Vanier Cup twice and he has helped the Roughriders and Ottawa Redblacks both win a Grey Cup in the CFL.

Thomas DeMarco is a former professional Canadian football quarterback. He played for the BC Lions, Ottawa Redblacks and the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Zack Evans is a Canadian football defensive lineman who is a free agent. He is a two-time Grey Cup champion having won the 101st Grey Cup as a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the 104th Grey Cup with the Ottawa Redblacks.

Brett Lauther is a professional Canadian football punter and placekicker for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was drafted by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the seventh round of the 2013 CFL Draft. He played CIS football at Saint Mary's University and attended Cobequid Educational Centre in Truro, Nova Scotia.

Ricky Collins

Ricky Collins Jr. is a former Canadian football wide receiver. He played college football at Kilgore College, Midwestern State University, and Texas A&M University–Commerce. He was a member of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), as well as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and the BC Lions, all of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Zackary Medeiros Professional Canadian football kicker

Zackary Medeiros is a professional Canadian football placekicker and punter who is currently a free agent. He most recently played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He was originally drafted 48th overall by the Edmonton Eskimos in the 2014 CFL Draft. He won his first Grey Cup championship while playing for the Ottawa Redblacks in the 104th Grey Cup game.

The 2019 Canadian Football League season was the 66th season of modern Canadian professional football. Officially, it was the 62nd season of the league. The regular season began on June 13, 2019, and concluded with the playing of the 107th Grey Cup in Calgary on November 24, 2019 —where the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33–12 to win their first Grey Cup since 1990.

Sergio Castillo Gridiron football placekicker and punter

Sergio Castillo is a professional gridiron football placekicker and punter who is currently a free agent. He played college football at West Texas A&M.

References

  1. ↑ "CFL Scouting Bureau: Still 10 CIS players among Top 15 prospects". U Sports . Canadian Football League. April 5, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Lions lock up draft class of 2011". Canadian Football League. May 30, 2011.
  3. ↑ "B.C. Lions release kicker Hugh O'Neill". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. August 16, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Esks sign Hugh O'Neill". Edmonton Football Team. August 19, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Saskatchewan Roughriders vs Edmonton Football Team". Canadian Football League . Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Eskimos release kicker/punter Hugh O'Neill". Sportsnet. January 21, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Riders sign K O'Neill; extend DB Turenne". Canadian Football League. February 3, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Riders Transactions - June 20th". Saskatchewan Roughriders. June 20, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Tiger-Cats sign K/P Hugh O'Neill". Hamilton Tiger-Cats. June 30, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Transactions – Football player trades and signings". Canadian Football League . Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Eskimos sign up for some insurance in their kicking game as Hugh O'Neill returns". Global News. July 24, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Edmonton Eskimos at 5-0 face injury tsunami as they prepare for winless Ticats". chatnewstoday.ca. August 3, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Eskimos transaction". Edmonton Football Team. September 2, 2017.
  14. 1 2 3 "Hugh O'Neill bio". Edmonton Football Team . Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Edmonton extends kicker Hugh O'Neill". Canadian Football League. February 5, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.