Marc Liegghio
Marc Liegghio (born February 13, 1997) is a Canadian professional football placekicker for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a Vanier Cup after winning with the Western Mustangs in 2017 and is a Grey Cup champion after winning with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2021. University careerLiegghio played U Sports football for the Western Mustangs from 2015 to 2019.[1] He sat out the 2015 season due to injury, but became the team's placekicker and punter in 2016 where he was named an OUA Second Team All-Star.[1] In 2017, Liegghio was named a U Sports Second-team All-Canadian as a placekicker after connecting on 29 of 33 field goal attempts and all but one of his point-after-touchdown converts.[1][2] He finished that season as a Vanier Cup champion when the Mustangs completed an undefeated season and defeated the Laval Rouge et Or in the 53rd Vanier Cup game.[3] In that game, Liegghio missed his only field goal attempt, but was perfect on five point-after-touchdown converts and had eight punts with a 41.8-yard average.[4] In 2018, he was named a U Sports Second-team All-Canadian, but this time as a punter.[5] His best season came in 2019 when he became the first player to be named a U Sports First-team All-Canadian at both the placekicker and punter positions as he set a U Sports single-season record with a 47.5-yard punt average and connected on 22 out of 24 field goal attempts.[6] In four seasons with the Mustangs, he became the all-time leading scorer in OUA history with 442 points and set the U Sports record with 92 successfully made field goals (from 105 attempts).[6] Professional career Winnipeg Blue BombersLiegghio was drafted in the fifth round, 39th overall, in the 2020 CFL Draft, by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.[7] However, he did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of both the 2020 CFL season and the 2020 U Sports football season. Instead, he signed with the Blue Bombers on January 7, 2021 to a rookie contract.[8] He was named the team's punter following training camp with Tyler Crapigna handling the placekicking duties. Liegghio played in his first professional game on August 5, 2021 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats where he had 10 punts for a 41.4-yard average (36.2-yards net average).[9] With Crapigna out with injury in the week 4 game against the Calgary Stampeders, Liegghio was also named the team's placekicker for the August 29, 2021 game.[10] When Sergio Castillo joined the team in October 2021, Liegghio relinquished placekicker duties.[11] He played in all 14 regular season games in 2021, where he had 92 punts for a 43.7-yard average and four singles along with connecting on five of eight field goal attempts and five of eight point-after conversions.[12] Liegghio played in both of the team's post-season games, including the team's 33–25 overtime victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 108th Grey Cup game where he had five punts with a 38.7-yard average and one single.[12] After Castillo left the Blue Bombers in free agency, Liegghio resumed double duty as the Blue Bombers' placekicker and punter for the 2022 season.[12] The low point in his season came in week 10 with the team holding a 9–0 record and facing the Montreal Alouettes.[13] With the two teams tied 17–17, Liegghio had an opportunity to win the game with a 32-yard field goal, but missed with no time remaining in regulation.[13] He then missed a 37-yard field goal in overtime and the Alouettes won 20–17, ending the Blue Bombers' winning streak.[13] He did, however, make a career-long 55-yard field goal in the Labour Day Classic on September 4, 2022.[12] He had another challenging outing late in the season against the BC Lions where he missed three long field goal attempts and finished 1-for-4 on the day.[14] Despite some single game struggles, Liegghio finished with a strong regular season, havign connected on 32 of 39 field goal attempts (82.1%) and had 91 punts with a 46.9-yard average.[12] He again played in both post-season games and made one of two field goal attempts and two of three convert attempts in the Blue Bombers' 23–24 loss to the Toronto Argonauts.[12] Liegghio attended training camp with the Blue Bombers in 2023, but was part of the final roster cuts on June 3, 2023.[15] Hamilton Tiger-CatsOn June 17, 2023, it was announced that Liegghio had signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, with incumbent placekicker Seth Small being placed on the suspended list.[16][17] He was successful on his first 17 field goal attempts with his first miss coming in August that year.[12] He finished the 2023 regular season having played in 17 games where he connected on 41 of 47 field goal attempts and scored three singles.[12] He also played in the team's East Semi-Final loss to the Montreal Alouettes where he was successful on all four of his field goal attempts with a long of 47 yards.[12] In 2024, Liegghio played in all 18 regular season games where he was 43-of-48 on field goal attempts for a career-high success rate of 89.6% and was 38-of-40 on point-after conversions, which was also a career-high percentage of 95.0%.[12] He also finished the season having made 15 consecutive field goals.[12] References
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