Former Port Adelaide footballer Callum Wilson pursues American football career as a punter

CALLUM Wilson knew at the end of his sole SANFL season with Port Adelaide that he had lost his passion for footy — now he is chasing a career in the NFL.

CALLUM Wilson knew at the end of his sole SANFL season with Port Adelaide in 2012 that he had lost his passion to play at state league level.

But what the former West Coast Eagles forward did not realise until last year was that his future actually lay in another sport.

Wilson, 25, has moved to Melbourne to pursue a punting career in American football with a long-term goal of playing in the NFL.

It came after he spotted an advertisement for an NFL tryout in an AFL Players Association email in September.

“It’s been something I’ve always considered since I finished in the AFL,” Wilson says.

“I rang up the head of ProKick Australia (American football academy) Nathan Chapman and asked if I could have a tryout and I went across to Melbourne for a day in October.

“I went reasonably well with the kicking and that’s where it started.”

There were big wraps on Wilson when he came to Alberton after seven games at West Coast.

But he could not back up his impressive pre-season form during the minor round, was dropped by round six and finished with 25 league goals from 15 games.

“I obviously didn’t perform as well as I expected to.

“In my last year at West Coast I had a poor year and thought maybe if I moved to Adelaide and had a fresh start, I might have a bit more enthusiasm for playing.

“By the end of the year I had no doubt in my mind I wasn’t committed to that level any more.”

Wilson spent last season playing alongside old Magpies mates for Great Southern Football League club Goolwa-Port Elliot.

Now he is aiming to play in the Canadian Football League in eight or nine months with a view to becoming an NFL prospect by the end of 2015.