FISHERS, Ind. — Pat McAfee hosted his "Kicking is Easy" challenge at the University of Georgia Saturday, Nov. 16 — and it produced not one winner but two!
For those who aren't familiar with McAfee's challenge, the first 300 people who arrive at College GameDay have an opportunity to get a raffle ticket that is randomly drawn. The lucky person chosen gets to kick a 33-yard field goal in hopes of winning a whopping $100,000.
However, this time was a first.
Belle Sessions was the winner of the raffle, but she told McAfee that she wouldn't be able to kick the ball. So, she talked to Henry Silver, of Fishers, Indiana, who was standing next to her, and he said he'd be able to do it.
Sessions then said if he made the goal, they would split the money.
Right before Silver kicked, McAfee upped the ante.
McAfee announced that Silver and Sessions would walk away with $800,000, with each of them getting $200,000 and $400,000 going to hurricane relief.
"What I want to let you know is you're not getting a second opportunity," McAfee told Silver. "I don't care if this entire place starts chanting for a second kick."
And with thousands of eyes on him, Silver scored, and the crowd went absolutely ballistic.
McAfee celebrated and hugged Silver after he made the kick before hugging Sessions. The crowd chanted for Silver as McAfee congratulated them both.
After his cash-winning kick on Saturday, 13News talked with the Hamilton Southeastern graduate who nailed that 33-yard field goal.
"The second I kicked it, I knew it was good," Silver said.
Silver, a freshman at Georgia, is also a Fishers native and has played soccer all his life, which he says gave him the skills to win.
Silver says he's watched GameDay all season and knew he could do it.
"I would see some kids shank it way off to the left or barely make it through the uprights. I'm like, I can do that. Of course, I'm sitting on my couch saying all that. But being able to talk the talk and finally being able to walk the walk? That was great," Silver said.
Silver says he was most nervous backstage, right before the actual kick.
"I'm realizing what I got myself into. And then I've gotta be on TV in front of like hundreds of thousands of people," Silver said. "And I'm shaking back there, texting my friends, texting my family. I'm misspelling every other word because my hands are so unsteady, but once I got up there, I kind of had some confidence in myself I was going to make it, and the nerves just kind of disappeared."
Silver told 13News he plans to save most of the money he won.
He wants to go to medical school eventually, and the cash from this kick will certainly help.