Aussie Punter/Kicker Sam Irwin-Hill Talks Miami Hurricanes Offer
Junior college kicker/punter Sam Irwin-Hill (6-3/215) received a very surprising, yet great call from University of Miami defensive line coach Jethro Franklin last Friday.
“It’s the first time I heard from Miami and it was a straight-up offer from them,” Irwin-Hill said of his recent interaction with Miami. “So, it’s a good thing to get. A bit overwhelming and humbling at the time not having contact and then get a call with the offer. Coach Franklin offered me, he was impressed by my highlight tape. It’s good to see not just offense and defensive players going to the NFL, but you see kickers going to the NFL (in reference to Matt Bosher). So, that is good to know being a kicker-punter. ”
So, where do the Canes sit on his list of college choices?
“From what they’re telling me, it’s pretty high,” Irwin-Hill said. “Obviously, I have to wait to go on a visit to decide and be able to understand what Miami’s all about because I haven’t been anywhere else in America at the moment. I guess I’ll just have to wait until the visit and make my decision from there.”
His team, City College in San Francisco, Calif., is playing for the state championship which could momentarily hinder his plans for an official visit.
“I couldn’t actually tell you the official date, but I’m looking to push for December 14. We have the state championship game this weekend, so the weekend after that. We are in the California State Championship; it’s the second state championship I played in since I’ve been there.”
The Miami coaches gave him some encouragement on his upcoming state game which left a big impression in the mind of Irwin-Hill.
“The coaches told me that they wanted me to prepare for the week obviously because of the state championship,” Irwin-Hill said. “They offered me last week on Friday and they said ‘just take the time out and don’t get overwhelmed. Take the time out and prepare for your state championship game. Put this at the back of the table and wait until you finish your game. Consider the visit after the week is over.’ That is a pretty important thing. I thought it was considerate that the coaches advised me that way. It’s good to hear, not just good things about the university, but the coaches care, too.”
The March graduate will be choosing out of several colleges including Arkansas, Miami and Utah State.
“I’m looking at Utah State, Louisiana Tech and Arkansas University. Arkansas is the one I’m going to throw up against Miami because it is a big school and it would be a great opportunity as well. Those schools there. From what I heard about Miami, it’s looking pretty solid. Which I still won’t know until I go on my visit to Arkansas in January.”
Irwin-Hill—who claims one of his talents is being able to kick with either foot—talked about his experience coming from Australia to the United States of America.
“I’m from a small town called Bendigo (AU), it’s two hours north of Melbourne,” Irwin-Hill said. “I found myself playing Australian rules football and soccer as a kid. I never played American football back home, but the last year before I came here I joined a program called Prokick Australia. That academy is designed specifically to take kickers and punters that have the potential to play Division 1 football and bring them over to America and get them scholarship offers. I ended up at a junior college because of my academic situation. I was looking at some big schools at the time, but at the same time a junior college in San Francisco was a big opportunity for me. They were the No. 1 ranked junior college in the nation last year.”
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