39Lou Hedley is an Australian-American football punter from Mandurah, Western Australia. He played Australian rules football before converting to American football through Prokick Australia, earning a college opportunity at City College of San Francisco and later becoming Miami’s starting punter. Hedley signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2023, won the starting job and played all 17 regular-season games. The Saints waived him on August 27, 2024, and he has not been ve…
Louis “Lou” Hedley was born in Mandurah, Western Australia, and developed through Australian rules football before pursuing American football in adulthood. He played locally in Western Australia, including with the Mandurah Mustangs and South Mandurah Falcons, and was also associated with Peel-area football. After working as a scaffolder and spending time operating a tattoo shop in Bali, Hedley connected with Prokick Australia, an academy that helps Australian kickers and punters enter the United States college system. He began American football at City College of San Francisco in 2017, where he averaged 38.6 yards per punt in his first college season. Hedley transferred to the University of Miami, became the Hurricanes’ primary punter and established himself as one of the ACC’s leading specialists. His Miami career included All-ACC recognition, All-America recognition, ACC Specialist of the Week honours and a place among the Ray Guy Award finalists. Undrafted in 2023, he signed with the New Orleans Saints and won the punting competition during training camp. As an NFL rookie, he played all 17 regular-season games in 2023, recording 75 punts for 3,224 yards, with a 43.0-yard gross average, a 62-yard long and 31 punts inside the 20-yard line according to NFL career statistics. The Saints waived Hedley on August 27, 2024, after he lost the punting competition to fellow Australian Matthew Hayball. His verified professional playing history currently consists of the 2023 New Orleans Saints season.
Hedley’s first major break came when Prokick Australia helped him transition from Australian rules football into American football and secure a place at City College of San Francisco in 2017. His subsequent transfer to Miami and emergence as an All-ACC punter led to his NFL opportunity with the New Orleans Saints.
At Miami, Hedley was recognised as first-team All-ACC in 2022 and second-team All-ACC in 2020 and 2021. He was a finalist for the 2020 Ray Guy Award and received Associated Press second-team All-America recognition in 2020. NFL.com records his 2023 Saints season at 75 punts, 3,224 punting yards, a 43.0-yard average, a 62-yard long and 31 punts inside the 20. The Saints reported that opponents averaged only 5.6 return yards per punt against New Orleans in 2023.
Hedley’s defining professional moment was winning the Saints’ starting punter role as a 30-year-old undrafted rookie in 2023 after converting from Australian rules football. He then played in all 17 regular-season games. His college peak came in 2020, when he ranked among the FBS leaders in punting, was named an AP second-team All-American, earned second-team All-ACC recognition and became a Ray Guy Award finalist.