Damon Duval (born April 3, 1980) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

and punter. Duval played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

, and was recognized as a consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. He played professionally for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

and

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL), and the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

and Edmonton Eskimos of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL).

Early life

Duval was born in

Morgan City, Louisiana Morgan City is a small city in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States, located in the Acadiana region. The population was 11,472 at the 2020 census. Known for being "right in the middle of everywhere", Morgan City is located southeast of ...

. Beginning at age 11, he played professional soccer in the United States Indoor Soccer League

USISL The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...

as a striker for the

Chattanooga Express Chattanooga Express were a soccer club that competed in the USISL from 1992 to 1997. The club originally started in 1992 as the Chattanooga Railroaders in the USISL The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-profession ...

. Not only was he the youngest player ever signed in the USISL, he also was the leading scorer in the seasons he played. Additionally, he was a striker on both the U.S. Olympic Development Team and the U.S. Men's National soccer team. He attended Chattanooga Central High School, class of 1998, in

Harrison, Tennessee Harrison is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hamilton County, Tennessee, Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 7,902 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chattanooga metropolitan area. Harrison Bay State Park, the Hamilt ...

, and played high school soccer and football for the Chattanooga Central Purple Pounders.

College career

Duval attended

in Auburn, Alabama, where he played for the

Auburn Tigers football The Auburn Tigers football program represents Auburn University in the sport of American college football. Auburn competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Confe ...

team from 1999 to 2002. He is considered one of the best kickers and punters in Auburn football history. During his college career, Duval amassed over 9,000 punting yards for an average of 44 yards per punt. His 60.8 percent field goal completion 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 The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played annually in Atlanta, Georgia, since December 30, 1968. The first three Peach Bowls were played at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Grant Field on the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech c ...

. Memorably, Duval kicked a 44-yard game-winning field goal in the rain against the No. 1 ranked Florida Gators with 10 seconds left in the game in 2001. It was one of three game-winning field goals he made 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 as a first-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) selection as both a kicker and a punter, becoming the first player to ever be named to an All-SEC first team at two different positions. Duval was also recognized as a consensus first-team

, having been named to the first teams of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

, American Football Coaches Association and Walter Camp Foundation as a kicker. He was also a finalist for the Lou Groza Award.

Professional 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 undrafted free agent with the NFL's

. He was waived by Jacksonville on June 19, 2003 and later signed with the

. He was waived by Atlanta on August 29, 2004, and subsequently left the NFL to sign with the

of the Canadian Football League. Duval made an immediate impact in 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. 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 7, 2009, he set the record for points in the CFL regular season with 242, again with the Montreal Alouettes. In the 2009 Grey Cup Championship November 29, Duval's field goal from 33 yards out on the game's final play gave the Alouettes a 28–27 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders, capping a remarkable Montreal comeback. Duval had actually missed a 43-yard field goal attempt on what should have been the last play of the game, but the Roughriders were penalized for having too many men on the field. Duval helped the Alouettes win back-to-back Grey Cups with the team's second straight win in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. After the 2010 season, Duval became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

and he signed with the Edmonton Eskimos on June 6, 2011. After spending one season with the Eskimos, he was released on February 1, 2012.

Personal life

Duval was married to Ashley Duval (2006 - 2013), who was named as Celebrate Recovery's Top 50 Most Beautiful Influencers in 2018 through 2024, citing her unique style & fearless promotion of mental health. Faces & Voices of Recovery, recognized Ashley as Trailblazer in Women of Influence 2019. In early 2022, Ashley was featured in Time, Changing the Face of Recovery, featured as one to watch, Gamechanger. Ashley is the sister of former Edmonton Eskimos' receiver Brad Smith and the daughter of former CFL Commissioner and

President Larry Smith and Miss Montreal 1968, Leesa MacLean. Damon and Ashley share their two sons, Drew James and Hunter William.

References

External links

Scout.com Draft Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duval, Damon 1980 births Living people All-American college football players Players of Canadian football from Louisiana American men's soccer players Auburn Tigers football players Canadian football placekickers Canadian football punters Chattanooga Express players Edmonton Elks players Montreal Alouettes players People from Morgan City, Louisiana USISL players Men's association football forwards Players of American football from Louisiana American football placekickers American football punters