Australia has been a good source of punting prospects for American football, but rarely have they looked this Australian. Meet Louis Hedley, the new punter signed by the Miami Hurricanes. Yes, this guy is playing college ball: Advertisement Born in Mandurah, Australia, Hedley comes with quite the backstory: According to the Miami Herald, the 24-year-old was struggling to make it in Aussie rules football in between stints building scaffolding in the Australian desert: His chances at making a living playing Australian rules football were fading, so Hedley found employment in construction, working as a scaffolder across his home country. He would spend a week home in Mandurah, then fly out somewhere in the desert to spend a month working.﻿﻿ While Hedley wasn’t well-rounded enough to make a living off of Aussie rules—his position, full back, is somewhat like a free safety role that also can punt the ball; just go with it—his leg did catch the eyes of onlookers. Eventually, Hedley linked up with a program that helps convert Aussie-style players into American football punters. That led to a season at juco City College of San Francisco. Here he is, straight up blasting some punts: Despite moving across the Pacific to play football, Hedley was still quite fresh to the style of the game. A video game helped him out: The first time Hedley ever watched a football game it was from the sidelines in California. City College lost a close game to Oakland’s Laney College last September and Hedley punted six times. Hedley only knew when he was supposed to punt because he bought a Madden NFL video game ahead of time to study when the punters are supposed to take the field. While the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Hedley may look like a hardcore singer that will, at any point in time, scream “OPEN UP THE PIT! !” he should help the Hurricanes with one of their recent problems: the team has been in the bottom 12 for punting average for the last two seasons.<doc-sep>MIAMI — Late Tuesday night (Australian time), Miami signed its most heavily decorated recruit. Louis Hedley is the top-ranked punter in the nation and the only one with a three-star rating, according to 247Sports’ composite list of prospects for the 2019 class. But Hedley’s notoriety has less to do with rankings and more to do with tattoos. Lots and lots of tattoos. When Hedley signed, he posed for a picture in a tank top, showing off the symbols and intricate ink designs that cover his arms and run all the way up his neck. He even stuck out his hands, connecting his thumbs to form the Hurricanes’ “U”. Hedley’s ode to modern day art was first spotted on the Coral Gables campus two months ago when he took his official visit. Miami coach Manny Diaz was not around to check out the potential signee. Diaz’s first glimpse of his new punter came via the same photo everyone else saw. Upon sight, Diaz had an idea. He quipped during Wednesday’s news conference that he is considering sending Hedley out for the coin toss each game. “We’ll see how everyone feels about that,” Diaz said. The Australian, who is in his mid-20s, was kicking at the City College of San Francisco in 2017, averaging 38.6 yards per punt. He learned the craft a month after moving to the United States after several years playing Aussie Rules football that yielded little success. It is not just Hedley’s tattoos that make him stand out among the college kicking fraternity. It also is his size. He is 6-4, 215 pounds. Diaz, though, is confident Hedley will be able to blend right in. “This is Miami,” Diaz said. “It’s hard to shock someone at Miami. I think he’ll fit in fine here.” Hedley’s arrival should boost a punting game that averaged 38.3 yards per punt, ranking 115th among Division I-A programs. “You talk about addressing issues with our football team with field position that was a major weakness for us a year ago,” Diaz said of Hedley. “So to be able sign a punter who we think has the talent that Lewis has is a big boost for our football team and makes us better in the special teams phase.”<doc-sep>
Thanks to the International Date Line, the Miami Hurricanes got a jumpstart on Wednesday's National Signing Day. Louis Hedley, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound (and heavily tattooed) punter from Australia, became the day's first player to sign his National Letter of Intent, doing so from his hometown of Mandurah, Australia. Hedley is a junior college transfer out of the City College of San Francisco, where he kicked during the 2017 season (averaging 38.6 yards a punt), redshirted in 2018 and then verbally committed to play at Miami. "It’s official!! I'm a cane," Hedley posted on Twitter. "Thank you to everyone that has helped me get to this point. LETS GOO!!" Hedley — who is 25 years old, according The Guardian, the student newspaper of CCSF — is the first signee for first-year 'Canes head coach Manny Diaz. Diaz was hired by Miami on Dec. 30 and is inheriting a team that struggled in the punting department last season. The Hurricanes averaged just 38.3 yards a punt in 2018, which ranked the team at 115th out of 130 FBS programs. Judging by the tape, Hedley — the top-rated junior college punter, according to 247Sports — might be able to immediately make an impact for the Hurricanes' special teams in 2019. Hedley displays an ability to punt like a traditional American football punter, or roll out and kick like players do in Australian rules football. He also might be a devastating presence on punt fakes. Follow USA TODAY Sports' Jim Reineking on Twitter @jimreineking.