US college recruiters eye American football talent in Australia

UNLIKE Jarryd Hayne, for most footballers university is the key to playing in the NFL. In recent years recruiters have had a keen eye on Aussie talent.

Dallas Cowboys punter Tom Hornsey (1) punts the ball during the second half of an NFL preseason football game against the Baltimore Ravens Saturday, Aug. 16, 2014, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

THE rise of Jarryd Hayne has captured the attention of the nation, but his journey to American football is extremely rare, having never played a competitive game before signing with the San Francisco 49ers. For most budding players university is the key to playing in the NFL, and in recent years recruiters have had a keen eye on the talent coming out of Australia.

There have been plenty of success stories that have led to there being six Australians currently playing in the NFL.

Hornsey at Dallas practice with coach Jason Garrett looking on.

Queenslander Jesse Williams played gridiron in Australia before earning a scholarship with the University of Alabama that led to him playing for the Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman David Yankey played for Stanford, and Tom Hornsey was voted the best punter in college football with Memphis before ‘America’s team’ called him into Dallas’ training camp.

The latter was a product of an independent program run by former AFL player, Nathan Chapman.

ProKick Australia has helped numerous Aussies get full scholarships to play football as punters and kickers in the US, and make it to the NFL. Having completed their time in university, Hornsey and Pittsburgh Steelers punter Jordan Berry are the current pair of ProKick alumni eyeing the 53-man NFL rosters in their respective teams.

“We know there’s talent coming from a rugby, basketball, league or AFL background, so there’s plenty of guys out there. It’s just about showing them what it’s about,” Chapman said.

“We try to promote it as an academic pathway, as a way to get a degree at university, but they get to do that by being able to kick a football.

“It’s not about your ability now, it’s about if we feel we can make everything technically better and within 12-15 months put people in a position to get a scholarship and go from there.”

LSU punters Josh Growden (left) and Jamie Keehn (right) came through the ProKick Australia program.

With college recruiters back in the US already scouting for next year’s class, the coming months are a crucial time for ProKick and similar localised scouting programs.

So what is it that they’re looking for in a potential punter or kicker?

“It’s about general strength,” Chapman said.

“We look for the fluency in motion, but also the raw power. If they can demonstrate there’s power behind the kick, then that’s what we go off.

“We assess with the benchmark being a 45 yard punt with 4.5 seconds of hangtime. If you can do that on your first day, then there’s plenty to work with.”

Aussie Cameron Johnston (centre) won a national championship last season with Ohio State University.

Want to see if you’ve got what it takes to be a punter or kicker? ProKick Australia are holding a tryout day in Sydney on September 26. Check out ProKickAustralia.com for more information.

Originally published as US college recruiters eye American football talent in Australia