Damon Duval

Damon Duval

No. 38     Edmonton Eskimos
Date of birth:	April 3, 1980 (1980-04-03) (age 31)
Place of birth:	Morgan City, Louisiana
Career information
Status:	Active
CFL status:	Import
Position(s):	K/P
Height:	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:	197 lb (89 kg)
College:	Auburn
High school:	Chattanooga Central
Organizations
As player:
2003 2003-2004 2005-2010 2011-Present	Jacksonville Jaguars (NFL) Atlanta Falcons (NFL) Montreal Alouettes (CFL) Edmonton Eskimos (CFL)
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star:	2007
CFL East All-Star:	2006, 2007, 2008, 2010
Playing stats at CFL.ca

Damon Duval (born April 3, 1980, in Morgan City, Louisiana) is a professional Kicker and Punter for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. Raised by his mother, Cynthia, Damon attended Central High School in Harrison, Tennessee. At age 13, he played professional soccer in the United States Indoor Soccer League as a Striker for the Chattanooga Express. Not only was he the youngest player ever signed in the USISL league, he also was the Leading Scorer in the seasons he played. Additionally, he was a Striker on both the United States Olympic Development Team and the United States National Soccer Team.

College career

Damon signed to play college football for the Auburn Tigers and is considered one of the best kickers and punters in Auburn University history. During his career, Duval amassed over 9,000 punting yards for an average of 44 yards per punt. His 60.8% field goal success rate helped Auburn to a 29-19 record during his four seasons with the team, including appearances in the 2000 Citrus Bowl and 2001 Peach Bowl. Duval is perhaps best known for making a 44 yard game winning kick with 10 seconds left in the rain against the #1 ranked Florida Gators on October 13, 2001^[1] (one of three game winning field goals for the Tigers in 2001). Duval graduated from Auburn as a fifth year senior with degrees in Health Promotion and Business. During his career, he was selected to the Coaches' All-SEC team as both a kicker and a punter, becoming the first player to ever be named to the team at two different positions. Duval was also named to the Walter Camp and American Football Coaches Association All-America team as a kicker and was a finalist for the Lou Groza Award.

Pro career

Despite being one of the top kickers available in the 2003 NFL Draft, Duval was not drafted into the National Football League but did sign as an unrestricted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was waived by Jacksonville on June 19, 2003^[2] and later signed with the Atlanta Falcons. He was waived by Atlanta on August 29, 2004^[3] and subsequently left the NFL to sign with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. Duval made an immediate impact on the CFL, leading the league in scoring his rookie season (2005) with 191 points and proved to be very reliable kicking field goals. His 2005 CFL highlight came in the 93rd Grey Cup when he made a 27 yard field goal with no time left to force overtime. Continuing his 2005 success, Duval led the league in field goal percentage with 86.4% in 2006 which led to his making the 2006 All Star team.^[4] He also finished second in kicking points (201), punting average (45.4 yards) and kickoff average (61.1 yards). Duval's strong play helped Montreal reach the 94th Grey Cup by kicking a game sealing field goal in the Division finals. Unfortunately, his team fell short again despite Duval's 43 yard field goal in the second quarter. On November 7th, 2009 he set the record for points in the CFL regular season with 242, again with the Montreal Alouettes.^[5]

In the 2009 Grey Cup Championship November 29, Duval's field goal on the game's final play gave the Alouettes a 28-27 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders, capping a remarkable Montreal comeback. Duval helped the Alouettes win back-to-back Grey Cups with the team's second straight win in 2010.

After the 2010 season, Duval became a free agent and he signed with the Edmonton Eskimos on June 6, 2011.^[6]

Personal life

Duval is married to Ashley Smith. She's the sister of the Edmonton Eskimos' receiver, Brad Smith, and the daughter of the Montreal Alouettes' president, Larry Smith.

External links

• Edmonton Eskimos Player Bio
• Scout.com Draft Profile

References

1. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg0sJP-f4uA&NR
2. ^ http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/JAC/6438765
3. ^ http://www.atlantafalcons.com/team/article.jsp?id=1453
4. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/sports/greycup/features/allstars.html
5. ^ http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=297559
6. ^ http://www.esks.com/article/esks-agree-to-terms-with-all-star-kicker

Persondata
Name	Duval, Damon
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 3, 1980
Place of birth	Morgan City, LA, USA
Date of death
Place of death