The Aporia · WATCH: An extraordinary kick from an ordinary kid!

WATCH: An extraordinary kick from an ordinary kid!

Read the original at ABC News (US) ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

ABC News. (2026, September 21). WATCH: An extraordinary kick from an ordinary kid! ABC News (US). https://abcnews.com/video/136606026/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Connor Kacena-Merrell, a freshman at UT, won $1.1 million in the "Kicking is Easy" contest on ESPN’s College GameDay by successfully executing an impressive kick. The event took place on September 20, 2026.

Written by AI on 2026-09-21, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 20, 2026, UT freshman Connor Kacena-Merrell achieved a remarkable feat by winning the "College GameDay: Kicking is Easy" contest hosted by ESPN. The ordinary college student secured a cash prize totaling $1.1 million, making his kick truly extraordinary and earning him national recognition overnight.

Written for “Soccer Highlight” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

0 of 1 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

67/100

ABC News (US)'s corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Sports

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-21 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

ABC News (US) · 1351 article(s) · 4 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 4 correction(s)

2026-11-03

Tennessee escaped murderer caught near Kansas City

2026-10-24

Christa Pike's attorney describes botched execution, concerns about 'blown' veins

2026-10-04

Tennessee Corrections commissioner resigns days after failed Christa Pike execution

2026-09-25

'Like a horror movie': Ukraine's Oleshky faces 'catastrophe' under Russian occupation

Who wrote this

ABC News

301 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

🔮 James Talarico addresses supporters after projected win in Texas Senate race Democrat James Talarico addressed supporters after ABC News projected him the winner of the Texas Senate race, defeating Republican Ken Paxton.

2026-11-04 · assertive framing · WATCH: James Talarico addresses supporters after projected win in Texas Senate race

🔮 Democrats projected to take control of House and Senate Democrats will win enough seats to take control of the House and the Senate, ABC News projects.

2026-11-04 · assertive framing · WATCH: ANALYSIS: Democrats projected to take control of House and Senate

🔮 Vivek Ramaswamy addresses supporters after projected defeat in Ohio governor's race Republican Vivek Ramaswamy addressed supporters after ABC News projected Democrat Amy Acton will win the Ohio governor's race.

2026-11-04 · assertive framing · WATCH: Vivek Ramaswamy addresses supporters after projected defeat in Ohio governor's race

🔮 Annie Andrews addresses supporters after projected win in South Carolina Senate race Democrat Annie Andrews addressed supporters after ABC News projected her the winner of the South Carolina Senate race, flipping the seat once held by the late Lindsey Graham.

2026-11-04 · assertive framing · WATCH: Annie Andrews addresses supporters after projected win in South Carolina Senate race

🔮 Amy Acton addresses supporters after projected win in Ohio governor's race Democrat Amy Acton addressed supporters after ABC News projected she will win the Ohio governor's race over Republican Vivek Ramaswamy.

2026-11-04 · assertive framing · WATCH: Amy Acton addresses supporters after projected win in Ohio governor's race

🔮 Keisha Lance Bottoms addresses supporters after projected win in Georgia gov. race Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms addressed supporters after ABC News projected her the winner of the Georgia governor's race, making her the first Black female governor in the history of the U.S. November 3, 2026

2026-11-04 · assertive framing · WATCH: Keisha Lance Bottoms addresses supporters after projected win in Georgia gov. race

🔮 Texas Gov. Greg Abbott addresses supporters after conceding governor's race Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott addressed supporters after ABC News projected Democrat Gina Hinojosa will win the state's race for governor.

2026-11-04 · assertive framing · WATCH: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott addresses supporters after conceding governor's race

🔮 House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks after Democrats projected to take control of House House Speaker Mike Johnson made remarks after ABC News projected Democrats will win enough seats to take control of the House. November 3, 2026

2026-11-04 · assertive framing · WATCH: House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks after Democrats projected to take control of House

🔮 Democrats projected to take control of the House Democrats will win enough seats to take control of the House, ABC News projects.

2026-11-04 · assertive framing · WATCH: Democrats projected to take control of the House

🔮 Jon Ossoff addresses supporters after projected win in Georgia Senate race Democrat Jon Ossoff addressed supporters after ABC News projected he will win reelection in the Georgia Senate race.

2026-11-04 · assertive framing · WATCH: Jon Ossoff addresses supporters after projected win in Georgia Senate race

Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.

Also by ABC News

WATCH: James Talarico addresses supporters after projected win in Texas Senate race

2026-11-04 · ABC News (US)

WATCH: ANALYSIS: Democrats projected to take control of House and Senate

2026-11-04 · ABC News (US)

WATCH: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott addresses supporters after conceding governor's race

2026-11-04 · ABC News (US)

WATCH: Amy Acton addresses supporters after projected win in Ohio governor's race

2026-11-04 · ABC News (US)

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 301 articles by ABC News →

Topics

ESPN

Subjects

Connor Kacena-Merrell PERSON · 1× ESPN ORG · 1×

Narrative

UT freshman Connor Kacena-Merrell got the chance of a lifetime, to win a cash prize totaling $1.1 million at ESPN’s “College GameDay: Kicking is Easy” contest and won. September 20, 2026

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-21

2026-09-21 · ABC News (US)

WATCH: An extraordinary kick from an ordinary kid! · assertive framing

Claims (1 extracted, 0 hedged)

UT freshman Connor Kacena-Merrell got the chance of a lifetime, to win a cash prize totaling $1.1 million at ESPN’s “College GameDay: Kicking is Easy” contest and won. September 20, 2026 asserted

Kicking → get → contest

💬Give feedback · no sign-in needed

Tell me what to work on

No sign-in needed for now. Your note is sent without a name, so it cannot be answered.

🕘History 🎫Support

Terms · Privacy · beta v2.0.0

Articles to 4 Nov 2026