Enrique Yenny
DC Defenders
Position:Kicker
Personal information
Born: (1994-07-02) 2 July 1994
Aguascalientes City, Mexico
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
College:ITESM Toluca
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× LFA All-Star (2019, 2022)
  • LFA scoring leader (2022)
  • Tazón de Campeones champion (2017)
  • 2× CONADEIP champion (2017, 2018)
  • CONADEIP Special Teams Player of the Year (2017)
  • 2× CONADEIP Ideal Team (2017, 2018)

Enrique Gerardo Yenny Romero (born 2 July 1994) is a Mexican professional gridiron football kicker for the DC Defenders of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football with ITESM Toluca, winning a national championship in 2017.

Yenny was drafted by the Osos de Toluca in the first round of the 2019 LFA draft, earning All-Star honors as a rookie. He was also drafted by the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the third overall pick of the 2019 CFL–LFA Draft, spending one season on the team's practice roster before returning to the LFA as a member of the Pioneros de Querétaro. Yenny was subsequently traded to the Dinos de Saltillo, where he once again earned LFA All-Star honors in 2022 after leading the league in scoring.

Early life

Yenny was born on 2 July 1994 in Aguascalientes City.[1][2] His father, also named Enrique Yenny, hails from Mexico City while his mother, Zayra Romero, is from Tampico.[1] Yenny initially played association football in high school, but his coach encouraged him to try American football when he saw Yenny punting a ball 60 yards with no training in 2011.[3] He played three seasons of high school football.[2]

College career

Yenny received a scholarship to play college football for the Borregos Salvajes Toluca. In 2015, he successfully converted on seven field goals and 24 extra point attempts, scoring 45 points.[4] In 2016, Yenny made six field goals and 20 extra point attempts, scoring 38 points.[5] He also finished second in the CONADEIP in punting average with 46.5 yards per punt.[5]

2017 season

Yenny was named the 2017 CONADEIP Special Teams Player of the Year after successfully converting on five field goals and 16 extra point attempts.[6] He broke the single-season record by punting for 2,657 yards on 57 punts (46.6 average), in addition to recording a league-leading 64-yard average on kickoffs.[6][7] Yenny was named to the CONADEIP Ideal Team (both as kicker and punter) and was chosen to play in the Stars Bowl against the NCAA Division III All-Stars, where he helped his team come back from a 24–0 deficit to win 28–24.[8][9]

Borregos Salvajes Toluca finished the regular season with a 7–2 record. In the CONADEIP championship game against Aztecas UDLAP, Yenny kicked the game-winning 54-yard field goal, avenging a prior loss to the Aztecas earlier that season.[10] The following week, Borregos Salvajes Toluca played against the ONEFA champions, Pumas CU, in the Tazón de Campeones 2017 to crown the Mexican national champions. Yenny kicked the game-winning extra point in the final minute of the 16–15 comeback victory to help his team secure the first national title in program history.[11]

2018 season

In 2018, Yenny successfully converted on nine field goals and 24 extra point attempts, in addition to recording 40 punts for 1,770 yards.[12] He repeated as a CONADEIP Ideal Team selection.[13] Although the Stars Bowl was not held that year, Yenny was still named to the game's roster as a CONADEIP All-Star.[14] Borregos Salvajes Toluca finished the regular season with a disappointing 3–5 record. However, the team defeated Aztecas UDLAP in the CONADEIP semifinals before upsetting Borregos Salvajes Monterrey in the final for their second straight CONADEIP title.[15][16]

Yenny finished his collegiate career as the CONADEIP all-time leader in punting yards.[7]

Professional career

Osos de Toluca

Yenny was selected by the Osos de Toluca of the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA) with the eighth overall pick in the 2019 LFA draft. He was also selected by the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the third overall pick of the 2019 CFL–LFA Draft, which was held after a select pool of 51 Mexican players showcased their skills in front of CFL coaches and scouts at the CFL–LFA Combine in Mexico City.[17] Yenny played the 2019 LFA season with the Osos. In a Week 4 matchup against the Artilleros de Puebla, he recorded a 94-yard punt, the longest in LFA history.[18] Two weeks later, Yenny kicked a 59-yard field goal against the Raptors de Naucalpan to set a new record for the longest field goal in LFA history.[18][19] He was named to the LFA All-Star team.[20]

At the conclusion of the LFA season, Yenny joined the Montreal Alouettes training camp in May and was able to learn from veteran kicker Boris Bede.[21][22] Yenny's performance earned him a spot on the Alouettes' practice roster.[23]

Pioneros de Querétaro

Yenny joined LFA expansion team Pioneros de Querétaro for the 2020 season, on loan from the Osos de Toluca.[24][25] In Week 5 against the Dinos de Saltillo, he gave the Pioneros their first win of the season by kicking the game-winning field goal in the 9–8 win.[26] The following week, Yenny broke his own league record for the longest field goal by kicking a 60-yarder against the Artilleros de Puebla.[27] He was re-signed on a permanent basis ahead of the 2021 season.[25] However, the season was postponed and ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dinos de Saltillo

Yenny was traded to the Dinos de Saltillo in exchange for the second overall pick in the 2021 LFA draft, which was used to select wide receiver Jhovany Haro.[28] In the 2022 season, Yenny went 5 for 9 on field goals and 14 for 16 on extra points, thus winning the LFA scoring title with 29 points.[29] He again earned All-Star honors.[30]

Reyes de Jalisco

In December 2022, Yenny signed with Reyes de Jalisco ahead of the 2023 LFA season.[31]

DC Defenders

On 18 October 2023, Yenny signed with the DC Defenders of the United Football League (UFL).[32] He was not apart of the roster after the UFL Dispersal Draft on January 8, 2024.[33] On January 15, 2024, Yenny was selected by the DC Defenders.[34]

References

  1. 1 2 Rivera, Héctor (15 January 2019). "Enrique Yenni Romero, de raíces tampiqueñas, jugará en la LFA". El Sol de Tampico (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  2. 1 2 Pérez, Ángel Irineo (14 May 2019). "Enrique Yenny, camino al futbol americano de Canadá: «espero quedarme»". Así Sucede (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  3. ↑ Talbot, Damond (1 September 2020). "Draft Diamonds Free Agent Interview: Enrique Yenny, Kicker/Punter". NFL Draft Diamonds. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  4. ↑ "Estadísticas Temporada Regular 2015 Primera Fuerza (11a. Semana)" (in Spanish). CONADEIP. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Estadísticas Primera Fuerza 2016 (12va. Semana)" (in Spanish). CONADEIP. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  6. 1 2 "CONADEIP entrega premios a los MVP de su temporada 2017". Máximo Avance (in Spanish). 16 December 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  7. 1 2 "HUB Free Agent Report: Enrique Yenny". FanNation. Sports Illustrated. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  8. ↑ Aguilar, Leopoldo (14 December 2017). "Anuncian al equipo ideal 2017". La Jornada del Oriente. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  9. ↑ Aguilar, Leopoldo (18 December 2017). "Remontada espectacular de Selección Conadeip en Juego de Estrellas". La Jornada del Oriente. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  10. ↑ Lázzeri, Héctor (25 November 2017). "Borregos Toluca consigue su primer campeonato de la Conadeip al vencer a Aztecas UDLAP". Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  11. ↑ "ITESM Borregos Toluca capture first ever Mexican college title". American Football International (in Spanish). 4 December 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  12. ↑ "Estadísticas Grupo Independencia Primera Fuerza 2018" (in Spanish). CONADEIP. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  13. ↑ "CONADEIP Designa a lo Mejor de Premier 2018". Servicios de Información Masiva (in Spanish). 15 December 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  14. ↑ "No habrá Tazón de las Estrellas de CONADEIP". Máximo Avance (in Spanish). 9 December 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  15. ↑ Quezada, Jesús (18 November 2018). "El campeón nacional defenderá su título". Milenio (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 December 2022 – via PressReader.
  16. ↑ López, Tomás (25 November 2018). "Tec Toluca remonta para ganarle al Tec de Monterrey en el Campeonato de Conadeip". Receptor (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  17. ↑ "Mexico's top talent selected at CFL-LFA Draft". American Football International. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  18. 1 2 Mayen, Fernanda (1 April 2019). "Enrique Yenny rompiendo récords en la liga" (in Spanish). Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  19. ↑ "Osos de Toluca anotan el gol de campo más largo en la historia de la LFA". Milenio (in Spanish). 30 March 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  20. ↑ @LFAmex (May 24, 2019). "‼️ ALL-STAR TEAM DEFENSIVO Y DE EQUIPOS ESPECIALES LFA 2019‼️🏆👏🏈" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  21. ↑ Chabot, Jean-François (23 May 2019). "Le Mexicain Enrique Yenny à l'école des botteurs au camp des Alouettes". Radio-Canada (in French). Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  22. ↑ Desgagné, Émilie (18 May 2019). "Training Camp Diaries: Enrique Yenny From Mountain to Sea". Montreal Alouettes. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  23. ↑ "Global additions set to make history in Week 1" (Press release). Canadian Football League. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  24. ↑ Martínez, Danaý (8 February 2020). "Pioneros dará partida inicial". El Universal Querétaro (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  25. 1 2 González, Francisco (8 November 2020). "Pioneros de Querétaro amarró la permanencia de Enrique Yenny". Diario de Querétaro (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  26. ↑ "Pioneros ya ganó; Dinos fue la víctima". Máximo Avance (in Spanish). 7 March 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  27. ↑ "Triunfo de Artilleros sobre Pioneros". Quiubo Fitness (in Spanish). 14 March 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  28. ↑ "La LFA hace historia con su primer draft virtual". Milenio (in Spanish). 8 November 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  29. ↑ Mayen, Fernanda (12 July 2022). "Enrique Yenny vs Ricardo Aguilar; la pierna más poderosa de la LFA" (in Spanish). Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  30. ↑ @LFAmex (July 21, 2022). "#AficiónLFA #LFAAllStar #Team . ¡El jugador elegido cómo el pateador All-Star de la LFA es el #MexICanStar Enrique Yenny! . #SigueLaLFA #LFA2023 #Football #FútbolAmericano #LFA" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  31. ↑ @LfaReyes (November 5, 2022). "Nuestro nuevo pateador @EYENNY_79 tiene 2 de los récords de la @LFAmex en su posición. Estamos ansiosos de verlo en acción con nuestro equipo 👑💪🏼" (Tweet) (in Spanish) – via Twitter.
  32. ↑ "XFL Transactions". www.xfl.com. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  33. ↑ "UFL - Team Rosters". www.theufl.com. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
  34. ↑ Rachuk, Stephan (2024-01-15). "2024 United Football League (UFL) Super Draft Tracker". Pro Football Newsroom. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
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