via Twitter The U officially has itself a 26-year-old tatted up Australian punter named Louis Hedley who used to be a scaffolder in Australia and played semi-professional Australian Rules Football before turning to punting and a stint at a San Francisco junior college where he learned to punt in the fog and that put him on the Hurricanes radar. Now Hedley is going even further around the world to South Beach where the ladies at the clubs are going to go nuts over all the tats. You combine the accent, that tats, the world travel stories and you have yourself a breakout star in the making in Miami where worst case scenario he becomes a social influencer, gets hooked up with some international model, gets drafted into the NFL, makes several million, buys a pearl white pad in Key Biscayne, hits it rich on some land deal and ends up living a life like LEEBS. I’m telling you guys, I see it coming a mile away. As for that scaffolding career: For a month at a time, Louis Hedley would find himself in the deserts of Australia. 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. Louis enters Miami with a scholarship, all that room & board money and three years of eligibility. Imagine him sticking around until he’s like 29 just living that American dream. Not going to lie, why graduate? But we all know that Louis will probably spend a year, see what happens in the kicking game and then declare for the Draft. You want to enjoy that school life, but all that NFL money could smack him in the face and the next thing you know he’s punting in Green Bay. “It’s a big commitment coming over here for 18 months,” Hedley said, “but as soon as I decided to come over here, I haven’t looked back and it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever done.” Even for someone who knew almost nothing about college football 18 months ago, Hedley was able to pinpoint the Hurricanes as a dream destination early on. Mandurah is a beach town and Hedley called it “torture” to be so close to the ocean in San Francisco, but unable to swim in it frequently because of the weather. He always told people he would like to wind up in Miami and in the coming months he’ll finally make it. Of course he was able to pinpoint the Hurricanes as a dream destination. He knew Miami was an international city just loaded with Colombian Instagram supermodels. Louis got on IG and instantly knew where he was going to college. Look at this guy, he already gets it. Imagine what’s going through his head right know knowing he won’t pay a dime for the experience and likely won’t end up living with CTE after it’s all said and done. Keep in mind, he can do this! https://www.instagram.com/p/Btiz_iGF23P/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BsabnDGHhiL/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BolEEIugCQ4/ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnz4dDegovw/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BiqRpfTAQ5Y/<doc-sep>One of the most notorious colleges in the US now has the baddest-looking punter — and he’s an Aussie. West Australian Louis Hedley — a 193cm, 100kg monster — was announced as the University of Miami’s newest signing on Wednesday. One photo of the muscular, heavily-tattooed former scaffolder was all it took to create America’s latest viral sensation. CAN’T WAIT to watch 4th downs for The U next year #ForTheBrand pic.twitter.com/h6WBO6AiJ3 — Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 6, 2019 Sports Illustrated described Hedley, a former Aussie Rules player in his mid-20s, as the “coolest-looking punter ever”. The New York Post went with the “most intimidating punter you’ve ever seen”. Miami coach Manny Diaz had some fun with his recruit on Twitter, posting a meme of a kangaroo playing a guitar to welcome Hedley to the program. He also added one of Bart Simpson spinning the globe to find Australia. National Signing Day is on Wednesday in the U.S., but the time difference in Australia allowed Hedley to sign early. Hedley, originally from Mandurah on the southwest coast of WA, is the latest success story from renowned punting factory Prokick Australia. He has been in the US learning his trade for the past couple of years, playing at the City College of San Francisco in 2017 before red-shirting (sitting out) last season. This is Louis Hedley ... He’s not in a the remake of ‘Blood In Blood Out’ ... He’s not the president of a low rider club ... He’s not a craft beer brewer He’s an Australian who just signed with the University of Miami ... to be their punter 😳#NSD19 pic.twitter.com/jrQgOdFJRY — 🆃🆁🅾🆈 🅷🆄🅶🅷🅴🆂 ™️ (@TommySledge) February 6, 2019 Just brought to the attn of the Radosevich News Organization. A cow being sucked up by tractor beam. Rename the Ray Guy after Louis Hedley immediately. Woke. pic.twitter.com/0s8IkpQo4w — Eddie Radosevich (@Eddie_Rado) February 6, 2019 He averaged 38.6 yards per punt the season prior — better than the 38.3 yards per punt his new school averaged this past season using Jack Spicer and Zach Feagles. It put them 115th out of 130 FBS teams. Feagles left Miami, meaning Hedley – who has three years of eligibility left – should have the opportunity to compete for the starting job. Hedley will hope to one day join the growing number of Australian punters in the NFL. Former Sydney Swans academy player Michael Dickson is leading the way after being named to the Pro Bowl in his rookie season with the Seattle Seahawks Geelong product Cameron Johnston also enjoyed a standout season with the Philadelphia Eagles, playing in 16 games.<doc-sep>If the intimidation factor was quantifiable, Miami has won National Signing Day. JUCO punter Louis Hedley is not your run-of-the-mill, undersized special teamer. He's a 6-foot-4, 215-pound tatted up Aussie who looks like he could moonlight at defensive end for the Hurricanes. Hedley signed with the Hurricanes on Tuesday night, when it was official National Signing Day in his native Australia. "I think Miami is a perfect fit for me," Heldey told InsideTheU soon after he committed. "Coach (Todd) Hartley and the rest of the coaching staff have been fantastic and made me feel apart of The U family already. I’ll be coming for a visit later this year." Here's some of the national reaction following Tuesday night's announcement:<doc-sep>
The 2019 National Signing Day of college football is here! Throughout the day on Feb. 6, college football’s top recruits from around the country will make their commitments, sign a National Letter of Intent, and begin their journey at the college of their choice. There will be big flips, inspiring ceremonies, and even our first glimpse at the scariest punter of all time. His name is Louis Hedley. At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, the Australian-born punter announced on Tuesday night that he will be joining head coach Manny Diaz and the Miami Hurricanes. Hedley isn’t a gimmick either. The Aussie is the top-rated JUCO punter for the 2019 recruiting cycle, according to 247Sports, and he’s already one highlight away from becoming your favorite special teams player in football history. Hailing from Mandurah, Australia, the tattooed boot will join the Miami football program after spending the last year kicking for the City College of San Francisco, a junior college in California. The big Aussie sent 45 punts up last season, averaged 38.6 yards per kick, and landed eight of them inside the 20-yard line. RELATED: Ranking Miami’s Toughest Games of Their 2019 Football Schedule In an article from the student newspaper at CCSF, Hedley explained how he learned the now-famous rugby-style kick — which many punters in today’s game utilize for the long roll it creates — at Prokick Australia. There, he learned American football rules and earned the opportunity to come overseas and pursue offers to play at a Division-I school. And no, Hedley is not a 43-year-old man. He’s only in his mid-20s and worked as a scaffolder for several years in the Australian desert before taking up football and coming to America. Not only can Hedley kick, but he’s also one heck of an athlete. His highlight tape is super impressive, but he’s also flashed athleticism more built for a skill position player. Twice last season, Hedley pulled the ball down and converted on fourth down. One run went for 22 yards, and the other was a 56-yard scramble where he looked more like a running back than punter. With Miami ranking 117th in the country last season in net punting averaging just 34.5 yards per kick, the addition of Hedley gives them another weapon on the field. At the very least, The U now has the scariest special teams unit in the nation when their 6-foot-4 Australian punter trots onto the field in Coral Gables.