Sunshine Coast sports talent Nick Haberer in pursuit of NFL sporting dream

A Sunshine Coast Aussie rules star is aiming to make his new-found sporting dream come true after receiving high honours in his first year playing College Football in America. Here is how he did it.

Former Caloundra Panthers player and current Washington State College Football punter Nick Haberer dreams of one day playing in the NFL. Picture: Contributed.

A Sunshine Coast Aussie rules star is aiming to make his new-found NFL sporting dream come true after receiving high honours in his first year of playing American College Football.

Former Meridan State College student and Caloundra Panthers player Nick Haberer decided to make the move to America in 2021 after receiving a fully fledged scholarship to Washington State University.

Haberer, 21, said it was never his intention to play American football but took the opportunity with both hands after he encountered some early career injury concerns playing Aussie rules.

“I was playing for Caloundra and for the Brisbane Lions Academy and in my draft year I made the Queensland Allies squad so it was all going okay,” he said.

“I was talking with St Kilda and a couple of other AFL clubs but I had a few unfortunate injuries with repetitive head knocks and concussions so unfortunately my draft stock plummeted.

“It all went cold turkey for me so I decided afterwards to move to Melbourne and play in the Victorian Football League to maybe find a way to the AFL that way.”

Nick Haberer plays Aussie rules for the Brisbane Lions Academy (left) and playing for Washing State University Cougars (right). Picture: Supplied

The 21-year-old said he was close to signing with the Casey Demons before his family convinced him to check out the Prokick Australia program.

“There was a bit of discussion before I moved to Melbourne about College Football and the Prokick program which is based in Melbourne helps transition athletes into ready-made American football kickers or punters” he said.

“I ended up having a kick and speaking with Nathan Chapman and John Smith who are the founders and they sounded pretty keen on what I could do already,” Haberer said.

“They told me if I stuck around for six months they would be able to find me a scholarship so I ended up taking the risk and put everything I had into the training and five months later I signed with the Washington State Football team.”

𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙛𝙩 ⚒️Coach Krantz and Nick Haberer provide insight as to how the specialists are working together...

Posted by Washington State Football on Tuesday, August 31, 2021

The 198cm-tall punter is now studying a sports management degree and playing in front of crowds of more than 65,000 people.

Haberer said he hoped to make it to the NFL after taking out several awards in his first year at the College Football level.

“The best one was that I was awarded true freshman all-American which means I was the best punter in the 2021 newcomers class,” he said.

“My goals now are trying to make the Pac-12 first team and to get into the rankings for the Ray Guy award which is awarded to the best punter in College Football.

“I’ve still got another three years of eligibility at college so I will take all of those years to finish my studies and work on everything necessary before trying to break into the NFL draft.”