After [autotag]Bryce McFerson[/autotag] entered the transfer portal late in the spring practice session, Notre Dame football was without a punter.
That is until now – and the Fighting Irish appear to have landed a doozy of one.
6-6, 225-pound [autotag]James Rendell[/autotag] of Australia has accepted a scholarship to be Notre Dame’s next punter.
Rendell had been a commitment to Hawai’i but when Notre Dame learned about him they came in pursuit with special teams coordinator [autotag]Marty Biagi[/autotag] spending time recruiting him in Australia.
Rendell is the son of former Australian rules football star Matt Rendell. The younger Rendell spent multiple seasons with the Frankston Football Club in the Victorian Football League.
Rendell started training for what he hoped would be a punting career by working with Prokick Australia who works with punters in trying to get them connected to punt for colleges in the United States.
Tory Taylor of Iowa who won the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s best punter last year and was just made a fourth-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears, is one of many collegiate punters to have trained at Prokick.
What is Notre Dame getting in Rendell?
In his own words he can punt a football up to 80 yards with a hangtime of 5.1 seconds.
Sources: Notre Dame has landed a commitment from Australian punter James Rendell, the 23-year-old son of late Australian rules football legend Matt Rendell. pic.twitter.com/IJ4C9idMem
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) May 2, 2024
Here’s to hoping Notre Dame doesn’t have to use his skills often in the coming years but that when he’s called upon that he performs.
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