Texas student wins $1.2M on College GameDay, donates half to charity

ESPN College GameDay was very profitable for one University of Texas student. Each Week on the pregame show, former kicker Pat McAfee picks one student to take part in his Kicking is Easy field goal contest. This week, he picked Connor Kacena-Merrell from Zionsville, Indiana. And Matthew McConnaghey was on hand to help.

The Texas student from the Indianapolis-area complimented McAfee on his philanthropic efforts and said he enjoyed watching McAfee and new Pro Football Hall of Famer Adam Vinatieri at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Colts.

The freshman also said he would donate half his winnings to Building Tomorrow , an Indianapolis-based non-profit organization that works with communities in East Africa to give children access to quality education.

Kacena-Merrell had plenty of leg in his first attempt, but pulled it just a little bit wide right. McConnaghey and ESPN College GameDay's Kirk Herbstreit each promised to add $100,000 to the pot and gave Kacena-Merrell a second chance. Kacena-Merrell took advantage.

The UT student booted a strong kick right down the middle to win $1.2 million dollars. No matter what happens at the Texas-Ohio State game tonight, it was a great day for the young man from Indiana.

Kacena-Merrell didn't play football in high school, but he did play volleyball at Park Tudor High School and youth soccer.

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