Ohio State football: Meet the punter from down under
By Del Barris
The Ohio State football team will be introducing a new punter this year. It could be another Aussie who gets the starting job.
Most guys who play college football take the same route. They play for their local high school. Attend some camps to get useful tips under the watchful eye of college coaching staffs. Some enroll early, some wait until summer. It’s pretty much the same for all of them. Every now and then you run across a player who takes a much different path to college football. Meet Jesse Mirco, Ohio State’s punter from down under.
How different is his story from pretty much every other player on the Buckeyes’ roster? Very. The first thing you notice when you see Mirco’s name on the roster is that he hails from Freemantle, Australia. The second thing you notice is his age. Most true freshmen are 18-years old when they begin their first season with the Ohio State football program.
Mirco is 24. Like many Aussie punters, he was an Australian rules football player before deciding to try punting. He joined the ultra-successful ProKick Australia program that produced former Buckeye Cam Johnston and picked up the skill in just four months. He got so good so fast he managed to rise to the number six punter in the 2021 recruiting class.
Mirco, who had his black stripe removed a few days ago, is currently battling walk-on Michael O’Shaughnessy for the starting job. If he is named the starter, the expectations will be high for Mirco. The Buckeyes have had only two punters in eight seasons.
Both are now in the NFL. Cam Johnston averaged 45 yards per punt with the Buckeyes and is now with the Houston Texans. Drue Chrisman averaged 44 yards and is now with Cincinnati. The pressure to perform will be on Mirco immediately.
Like Johnston, Mirco is a versatile punter. The Ohio State staff said he’ll do both traditional punts and Australian-style. That Aussie style can be very effective for creating long rolls after the ball hits the turf and cutting down on return opportunities.
dark. Next. Will Zach Harrison live up to the hype?
There aren’t a lot of punters who feel pressure from fans to perform at a high level right away. Punting is usually an afterthought for most. I don’t think Mirco is going to have that luxury. Because of the standards set over the last eight seasons, he’s going to be expected to boom kicks from the get-go. Hopefully, that is exactly what he does.