When recruits make their decision on what programs they want to continue their sporting career, it’s a pretty big deal for them, their family, and the fan base. It’s rare when people care about kickers or punters being signed, but this next guy is not the norm.
On Tuesday, Louis Hedley announced on Twitter that he had committed to signing with the Miami Hurricanes. This is notable, because this guy is a 6’4″, 215-pound Australian punter who is absolutely covered in tattoos.
Hedley will have three seasons of eligibility after redshirting this past fall. He averaged 38.6 yards per punt in 2017 at City College of San Francisco.
As far as his age, here’s the student newspaper at City College of San Francisco, where Hedley transferred a few months after taking up football, in 2017:
The 24-year old from Mandurah, Australia is much more athletic than most punters. Built more like a wide receiver or shooting guard in basketball, Headley is 6’4, 215 lbs. and has a lean athletic build along with the ability to punt the ball well over 60-yards downfield.
A former Australian rules football player, which is a modified version of rugby that plays on an oval field instead of a square one, Headley is part of the trend of Aussie players coming over to America to punt with the hopes of making the NFL.
It continues:
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Headley decided to try out punting when someone who had watched him play Aussie rules football told him he had a big boot and should try punting. Before that Headley had been playing since he was three years old and had played semi-professional for three years in Western Australia.
Headley connected with Prokick Australia, a company that helps Aussie rules players learn to punt so they can head to America to play football. Prokick Australia has helped send multiple punters to City College, many of whom moved on to play at the Division-1 level.
Here he is putting in work:
