G'Day Mate: Blake O'Neill
AUSSIE PUNTER ALERT [photo via Standard Examiner]
A move that's been rumored for a while is now official, as the football program announced the addition of Australian punter Blake O'Neill, a graduate transfer who played for Weber State in 2014.
"We are looking forward to having a player of Blake's level of maturity, background and skill set -- growing up playing Australian rules football -- in our program," said John Baxter, U-M's special teams coordinator. "Australian players have made a big impact on college football in the kicking game, like last year's Ray Guy Award winner, Tom Hackett from Utah. We are looking forward to the impact that Blake will have on our team and within our conference."
O'Neill finished sixth nationally (Football Championship Subdivision) in punting during the 2014 season at Weber State. He played in all 12 games and averaged 44.1 yards per punt, setting a single-season punting average record for the Wildcats.
O'Neill tallied 62 punts for 2,737 yards with a long of 74 yards. He boomed 18 punts of 50-plus yards and notched 25 boots inside the opposition's 20-yard line. O'Neill ran for a first down on a fake punt and tossed a completion for a first down on another fake.
O'Neill didn't play American football until 2014; prior to that he played Aussie Rules Football. First year or not, he put up some really impressive numbers.
Are you ready for some punting highlights? Because we've got punting highlights. (Also fake punting highlights, which is a very exciting development.)
O'Neill displays all the skills you'd ask for in a punter; he's got the Aussie-style directional/backspin kick down, he booms traditional punts, and he can pull off a fake. Most important of all, he's Australian, so we can only hope he can replicate the Brad Wing experience minus the totally BS celebration penalty.
We don't know the current pecking order at punter since Michigan didn't punt during the spring game, but I don't think O'Neill transferred here to sit on the bench; he's the new favorite to take over the starting job, with Kenny Allen representing his chief competition.
I wouldn't go so far as to call the brother fat, I mean he got a weight problem. What's the guy gonna do? He's Samoan
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I didn't call anyone fat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was commenting that football is special there and if JH is looking offshore, look there.
I think I specifically heard you call him fat too. What do you have against fat people?
April 10th, 2015 at 10:34 PM ^
That's why I posted they way I did... I'm so tired of SJWs taking threads places they don't need to go that I forgot that was a movie reference.
It's a Pulp Fiction reference.
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watching the last fake punt, he runs pretty damn well. Knocked over by his own lineman rather than tackled by the other team too.
"I don't think O'Neill transferred here to sit on the bench"
I don't know. I would think a I-AA punter who has played football for one year might be the only person in the history of the world to be using the graduate transfer loophole because he actually wans to go to graduate school.
Fuck right I did.
Dammit.
Thanks for keeping his helmet on so I dont feel less adequate. O'Neil may increase MGo female demographic substantially.
Fake punts are great but fake 40 times are better.
That's better than Virtual Punt of 2015 Spring game fame who put up a very consistent and respectable 40 yards per. Sign him up!
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But that was Virtual Punter's net average, remember. Virtual Punt Coverage was also very good.
There were about 50 players on the field. For all I know there could have been more than two teams playing at a time. They had no discernible rules, and two officials in white hats who would point at seemingly random times. I believe that signified someone getting points.
Bring back Aussie Rules.
I remember watching that right when they started up. I think it was Melbourne's team, and they had a guy who looked 50, bald on top, but with long hair on the sides. They used to send him in to take out an opposing player.
Watch how punting works here:
AFL players learn to get punts off from everywhere on a huge oval field while the other team is trying to tackle them. It is the primary offensive play, the way they score, and the way they long pass (to pass you have to punch it like a volleyball so hand passes are pretty limited in range). Everybody punts so you can get a really good athlete who's been punting the ball his whole life.
Put an Australian in an American football punting formation, where he has guys blocking for him, he gets to wear pads, and the other team's not even allowed to hit him, and once he's done laughing he will kick ass.
I'm happy he's coming to Michigan, but I feel kinda sorry for him ...
... you see, Michigan will not need to punt the ball once this entire season!
:-)
...Harbaugh recruiting has now entered "OMG shirtless" territory:
Can't wait to see some of these fake punts and directional punts for the Maize and Blue! Welcome Blake!!
the best / only punter highlight tape I've ever seen. Easily.
We're likely to see Pipkins line up at gunner.
April 10th, 2015 at 10:47 PM ^
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Will Kenny Allen move over to kicker now fulltime?
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