Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson vouches for Lou Hedley after Australian-born punter makes Saints 53-man roster - “Love his story and hunger”

Add Lou Hedley to the never-ending list of inspirational sports stories. No wonder his journey caught the attention of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The former professional wrestler never hid the fact that he had just seven dollars after being cut from the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders.

While he has a net worth of around $800 million, Johnson still gives attention to those grinding hard to reach their dreams. That said, Johnson marveled at Hedley’s perseverance through social media.

Dwayne Johnson supports Lou Hedley’s rise to the NFL

BroBible NFL writer Dov Kleiman summarized Hedley’s path from humble beginnings to the top professional American football league worldwide. Kleiman shared that Hedley is an Australian who once owned a tattoo shop in Bali, Indonesia.

The 30-year-old undrafted rookie also worked as a scaffolder before playing punter for City College of San Francisco. He also earned the necessary grades to pursue further tertiary studies, given that he was a high school dropout.

Hedley transferred to the University of Miami, where Johnson played defensive tackle from 1990 to 1994. The pride of Mandurah, Western Australia, played 47 games for the Hurricanes, averaging 45.2 yards per punt out of 206 attempts.

But while he declared for the 2023 draft, no team selected him. However, the New Orleans Saints gave him a window of opportunity by signing him as an undrafted free agent.

Eventually, Lou Hedley made it to the team’s 53-man active roster after defeating Blake Gillikin for the punter role. His storybook journey had Dwayne Johnson quoting Kleiman’s tweet and reacting:

“Rooting for this guy to make it 👏🏾👏🏾 Love Lou Hedley’s story and his hunger. #theU #94 @NFL @Saints”

Hedley is just one of seven active Australian players in the NFL. Jordan Mailata plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, while Daniel Faalele lines up for the Baltimore Ravens. Mitch Wishnowsky, Michael Dickson, Adam Gotsis, and Cameron Johnston are the other Aussies in the league.

Lou Hedley’s path from Aussie rules to American football

Hedley started his Australian rules football career as a junior player for the Mandurah Mustangs of the Peel Football League. After which, he suited up for the South Mandurah Falcons in the Metro Football League for five seasons.

He also played for the Peel Thunder during the 2013 West Australian Football League season. Lou Hedley’s kicking prowess earned him an invitation to ProKick Australia in the same year. The said program aimed to train Australian placekickers and punters for potential collegiate or professional American football stints.

Meanwhile, Hedley's fellow undrafted free agent Blake Grupe unseated Will Lutz for the Saints' placekicker role.