Why Notre Dame’s New Australian Punter Jasper Scaife Has Sky-High Upside
Notre Dame has dipped back into the Australian pipeline for its newest punter, Jasper Scaife.
The 6-foot-5, 190-pounder publicly committed to Notre Dame on Christmas, giving special teams coordinator Marty Biagi a key piece in his specialist room after fellow Aussie James Rendell departed to pursue his NFL dreams.
Scaife has been trained by Mackenzie Morgan, who runs Inside 20 Punting and also trained Rendell. Morgan knows exactly what it takes to succeed in the United States, having played collegiately at NC State, Weber State, and Temple.
That experience is why Morgan is extremely selective about who he chooses to train.
“My mold of what I take in my business is they have to fit a certain criteria in terms of age, level of AFL background, character and personality,” explained Morgan. “I do a background check on all my guys to make sure they’re good people.
“All my guys fit that criteria, which allows them to progress into what I think they can be.”
Morgan has seen plenty of Australian punters come through the process, so when he offers high praise, it carries weight.
“Generational talent,” Morgan said of Notre Dame’s newest punter. “Straight off the bat, I’ve never really seen anyone hit the ball as he does. He’s got a gift. He’s 6-foot-5 and has long levers. He kicks it aggressively.
“Even if he mishits it, it goes far and high. He’s a really good punter and it’s come on quickly in the last couple of weeks. Notre Dame is getting a generational talent and he’s a good person.”
Scaife’s path mirrors that of many Australian punters. His original goal was to play in the AFL, but that dream ended when Hawthorn cut him in September. Shortly after, Morgan helped him transition into the next stage of his football career.
Punting is still relatively new to Scaife, but he’s picked it up quickly and perhaps that’s the most exciting part of his projection, as his ceiling is incredibly high.
“He got delisted, unfortunately, in September and I reached out to him a couple of days after to go kick,” stated Morgan. We went for a kick, and then we've done a few sessions since. It's been three months, I reckon. He's going there in January and he's coming along really well.”
The 21-year-old will now flip his life upside down, moving to the United States in a matter of weeks. College football is a major adjustment for most players, but transitioning to a new country while learning a new position is daunting.
That’s why Morgan’s criteria go beyond raw ability. He wants to make sure his players can handle the cultural and personal challenges that come with such a drastic move.
Ideally, Morgan looks for players between 18 and 22 years old, but the most important factor is experience playing professional or semi-professional Australian football.
“They have to have played a certain level of football,” Morgan explained. “That's what I think, because all the good guys that have come to America, who have gone on to the NFL or had really successful careers, have played at a certain level of Australian football, semi-professional and above. Scaife fits that mold.”
That experience breeds maturity.
“They play games that are meaningful,” Morgan said. “They've had seasons in football teams where it means a bit more. They're playing professionally or semi-professionally or whatever that may be, which means that they've had, you know, a coach criticize them or a journalist write bad things about them or good things. They're just more level-headed to deal with the criticism and the praise that may come their way.
“On top of that, they're heartbroken. Scaife’s just been cut from the AFL. He's heartbroken. It's like a chip on their shoulder. They've got the ability. They've dealt with the pressures of an elite environment and then they've got a chip on their shoulder. They want to make it work and coupled with ability, Scaife is a good fit.”
Rendell spent two seasons at Notre Dame as a transfer, but Scaife will arrive with four years of eligibility. If everything breaks right, the Irish may have stability at the punter position for years to come as he competes with Erik Schmidt, who is entering his sophomore season.
“He’s got four years,” said Morgan. “Four years of him smoking it.”
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