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Here’s an interesting one: Australian Sam Candotti, a punter, announced his commitment to Boston College today:
I’m extremely honoured and stoked to announce that i’ve been offered and committed to Boston College on a full scholarship
— Sam Candotti (@SCandotti26) May 2, 2021
Huge thanks to @CoachThurin and @CoachJeffHafley for this amazing opportunity. Go Eagles! #GetIn @ProkickAus @JohnnyPKA @ProkickGeelong @BCFootball pic.twitter.com/FbBZcCZP8o
First of all, very rare to see the word spelled “honoured” in these kinds of posts; you love to see it.
Secondly, Candotti came through the ProKick Australia program, which was launched to “guide and transition Australian athletes” (so: rugby, Australian rules football) into college-caliber kickers and punters, to help steer them toward opportunities in American higher education. Pretty cool.
According to their website, ProKick has sent 75 punters/kickers into American college football and produced 17 All-Americans. Their site also mentions that former Texas kicker Michael Dickson is an alum of their program; Dickson won the Ray Guy award in 2017 for the Longhorns.
There’s not a lot of information about Candotti’s career available online other than some match reports about his youth exploits in Australian Rules Football, which read like gibberish to me, though maybe our resident lover of Australia Grant Salzano will be able to translate.
However, ProKicker.com - which tracks and rates kicking, punting, and longsnapping prospects - lists Candotti as a 5-star punter recruit.
Candotti will enroll in January of 2022 according to his Tweet, which will line him up to compete for the job after Grant Carlson completes his redshirt senior year.
Welcome to the Heights!