Notre Dame needed a kicker, and Marty Biagi’s prayers were answered by a higher power when Spencer Porath left Purdue and enrolled in classes in January.
Well, something along those lines.
Regardless, Notre Dame has a healthy kicker and a dangerous weapon heading into the 2026 campaign.
Porath got his feet wet during the spring, but perhaps more importantly, he developed chemistry with his kicking operation. That was a concern entering spring ball, as the Indiana native didn’t know who would be holding for him.
Enter Jasper Scaife, a freshman punter from Australia who had never played football but appears to have locked down the holder position.
“He's doing great,” Porath said of Scaife. “It's been just a tremendous process, kind of teaching him the basics in January and it's been great. I've actually never had a holder hold for me for more than six months, so it's been awesome to actually work with a guy in the spring and now again continue to work with him here in the fall. We got a lot of good work in this summer, and he's done a great job.”
Notre Dame will return long snapper Joseph Vinci, so the last eight months have been about teaching Scaife the position and helping him become comfortable in a sport that was completely new to him.
“At the end of the day, Vinci's got to do his job,” stated Porath. “Jasper's got to do his job and then I got to do my job. Just get the ball down and we got to get it off in 1.3 seconds.”
Biagi was a significant reason Notre Dame was so appealing to Porath. It’s rare for a special teams coach to have a background in kicking, but Biagi punted and kicked during his playing days at Marshall.
Porath felt the benefit from having a coach who understood what it was like to be in his shoes, particularly this summer, when the kicking program was structured specifically with the kicker in mind.
“We tried to come out here at least twice a week,” explained Porath. “It was scheduled out for us. We were mainly working on Mondays and Wednesdays, which kind of offset the days we were lifting heavy legs in the weight room to try and keep us as fresh as possible.”
Like quarterbacks and pitchers, kickers need to be cautious with the workload on their legs. Too much work can lead to injuries, while not enough can create problems when Saturday arrives.
Porath believes Notre Dame has found that sweet spot and feels he’s in position for a productive season.
“We're always trying to aim for a good amount,” said Porath. “We do a lot of our work pre-practice just because of field space. But I mean, I wouldn't say too many reps. I'd say probably we try not to kick over 50 balls in a day just to try and keep us fresh. It's a long season.
“It's kind of like a pitcher's arm, right? You don't want to overthrow them because then they start losing velocity or whatever. They did a great job setting up our schedule where we're kicking every other day so we get a recovery day between every day that we kick. That's really beneficial to us, keeping us fresh and making sure we're ready to go come game time.”
The offseason also gave Biagi an extended opportunity to see exactly what he has in Porath.
When it comes to range, Porath has been more than efficient from long distance. During his time at Purdue, the 6-foot, 200-pounder went 4-of-5 from 40-49 yards and 2-of-3 from 50 yards or longer.
“I'm definitely comfortable 55 and in,” Porath stated. “It depends on the wind. Good day out – not like it's pretty muggy out right now. Wind and weather and all of that, I feel like I can hit back to 60. I feel like when we get across that 40-yard line, I'm thinking field goals.”
As for the transition to life at Notre Dame outside of Shields Hall, it couldn’t be going better.
“I got to spend the first semester in the dorm,” said Porath. “Shout out to Siegfried. I never lived in a dorm at Purdue, so it was just so tight-knit. The relationships you build, it was instant. It was like right when I showed up on campus, everyone was so nice, and it was just great to get to hang out with those guys and kind of get to know them as well.”
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