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There apparently won't be a punting battle in camp. Meyer on newcomer Cameron Johnston: "He's our No. 1 guy."
Bleed S & G;2362057; said:Curious to see this guy in action
Ohio State football: Australian punter impresses
By Bill Rabinowitz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH WEDNESDAY AUGUST 14, 2013
OK, let?s get the silliness out of the way quickly.
No, Cameron Johnston has not been to Outback Steakhouse, though it says plenty about Ohio State?s freshman Australian punter that he laughs good-naturedly at the question instead of rolling his eyes.
Johnston didn?t feel the need to point out that Outback is an American chain, not Australian. He has become used to fielding questions about his accent and life in his native land.
The bigger question ? can this 21-year-old with no American football experience do the job for the Buckeyes? ? seems to be fading by the day. When a temporary scholarship crunch caused OSU commitment Johnny Townshend to pick Florida after signing day, the Buckeyes suddenly were in the market for a punter.
Enter Johnston, a former Australian Rules Football player who had been working for the previous 18 months at ProKick Australia. ProKick has become a minifactory for producing kickers, including Alex Dunnachie formerly of Hawaii, Christian Eldred of Minnesota and Tom Hornsey of Memphis.
?It?s something I?ve always wanted to do,? Johnston said. ?I always thought of that. I was playing Australian Rules back home and had a couple of friends (kicking here). I thought that this is what I want to end up doing.?
Dazzled by his videos, Ohio State researched Johnston?s background and signed him over the summer. The buzz about 80-yard punts and incredible hang times was so strong that it felt like urban-legend material.
A week into fall camp, the hype seems justified.
?Special, special, special,? said cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs, who has added overseeing the kicking game to his job this year. ?He?s gifted. He can kick the ball a long way. He can kick it high. He can kick it where you want him to kick it. He can do all the kicks right now.
cont...
I never noticed this with anyone else (not that I was looking out for it), but this guy's left foot doesn't leave the ground. I always thought most punters do a bit of a jump.
Nor does he take the initial stutter step with his left foot..
I think that 2 of his punts were more "traditional" punts. But I believe that the third was his one-step punt, and I thought I saw posted in the game thread someone say something like "WTF was that kick?"
Very consistent in his 1st game; 3 punts for a 41.3 average, longest was 42. The important statistic was Buffalo's ZERO punt return yards. Not sure of his "hang times", one punt did roll at the end.