Sizzle 3,909 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Committing to Auburn as a blue shirt which means he will count to the next class, 2021, but can play in this the 2020 season. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McLoofus 35,182 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Dude is definitely from the land down under the radar. Whatever. Cool! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFDTiger80 790 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Anyone have a video on the punter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellitor 33,082 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 10 minutes ago, JFDTiger80 said: Anyone have a video on the punter? Not yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKEEL75 2,566 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Quote Tigers find their punter ... and he's from Australia ByKEITH NIEBUHR Auburn once again has gone Down Under to find its punter. Oscar Chapman of ProKick Australia announced via Twitter on Tuesday he has been offered and accepted a blue shirt offer to play for the Tigers. This is the same organization through which Auburn landed its previous starting punter -- Arryn Siposs. We expect Chapman to join the program later this summer. "I should arrive at Auburn around the 1st of August," Chapman said. "I’ll be coming in ready to play this season." According to Chapman, he is coming to Auburn as a freshman and will have four years of eligibility. With Siposs leaving early for the NFL (somewhat surprisingly) after the 2019 season, the Tigers had a major need at punter. Chapman is 21. He was born in Adelaide, south Australia. "I’ve lived here my whole life," Chapman told Auburn Undercover. "I moved to Melbourne last year to train with ProKick Australia. I’ve been training (with ProKick Australia) for one year. I was playing semi-professional Aussie rules football before that." According to Chapman, he is 6-feet-3, 210 pounds. When Chapman arrives at Auburn in August, it will be his time stepping foot on campus there. "I haven’t visited Auburn," he said. "I’ve done my research on the school and it’s incredible. I can’t wait to be there in person. My coaches -- Nathan Chapman and John Smith -- from ProKick Australia thought that this college would be a perfect fit for me and it’s an opportunity I couldn’t say no to." ProKick Australia has developed a high number of college and pro kickers in recent years. Siposs, a former professional Australian rules footballer, had to switch sports because of injuries. He was trained to kick the American football by ProKick Australia and was a valuable player during his two seasons with the Tigers. He has since signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Lions of the NFL. From the official website of ProKick Australia in the "about us" section, it says, "Prokick Australia was developed in 2007 to help guide and transition Australian athletes to perform at the College/ NFL level, and with our natural Aussie instinct of kicking a ball, we have focused on that area. Prokick Australia is now widely respected in the USA for developing punters and kickers, and coaches are sourcing more players from us every year and now well in advance. With 2017 being our 10th year of operation, plus our goal of getting 100 scholarships into College, now, is the best time to research and get involved. Our mission is to get you educated at College, and we promise that you will learn, laugh and sweat, if you are invited into the Prokick Australia program." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sizzle 3,909 Posted July 21, 2020 Author Share Posted July 21, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abw0004 10,110 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Absolutely love we keep going to Australia for punters. I am still waiting for a play where our Australian punter to truck someone. I hope in the player intros in the stadium he follows in Siposs' footsteps and says he is from "The land down unda." Welcome to the Family Oscar! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellitor 33,082 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 OP updated again & is fully correct this time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFDTiger80 790 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 22 hours ago, Sizzle said: So, can I assume he is going to be able to punt this year? If true, that is really great news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sizzle 3,909 Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 16 minutes ago, JFDTiger80 said: So, can I assume he is going to be able to punt this year? If true, that is really great news. Look at the updated OP 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rednilla 5,383 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 5 hours ago, JFDTiger80 said: So, can I assume he is going to be able to punt this year? If true, that is really great news. I'm pretty sure this just basically means he'll be a walk-on for a semester but get put on scholarship in January, when he can count toward next year's recruiting class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellitor 33,082 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 18 minutes ago, Rednilla said: I'm pretty sure this just basically means he'll be a walk-on for a semester but get put on scholarship in January, when he can count toward next year's recruiting class. @Rednilla incorrect. That's a Grayshirt & they can't play year 1. A Blue shirt is an athlete not formally recruited, but is put on scholarship at start of freshman practice in the fall.They can play in the current season but count forward to the next year's 25 new scholarship player limit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rednilla 5,383 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 3 minutes ago, ellitor said: @Rednilla incorrect. That's a Grayshirt & they can't play year 1. A Blue shirt is an athlete not formally recruited, but is put on scholarship at start of freshman practice in the fall.They can play in the current season but count forward to the next year's 25 new scholarship player limit. Interesting! I've never heard of that exception, and honestly I don't understand what precedence might have established this possibility, but I'm glad it worked out for us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellitor 33,082 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 1 minute ago, Rednilla said: I don't understand what precedence might have established this possibility It's been going on at least since 2014 where al.com has documented blue shirt players from G5 schools in Alabama. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paladin 3,305 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Quote Auburn’s addition of Australian punter Oscar Chapman was 5 months in the making Updated 11:23 AM; Today 11:23 AM By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com There was a glaring void on the screens displayed to either side of Gus Malzahn as he stood behind the podium inside the auditorium of Auburn’s athletics complex on Feb. 5. Auburn’s head coach was reviewing the Tigers’ 2020 recruiting class, the eighth of his tenure, and while the 26-member group composed the nation’s seventh-ranked class, there was a missing piece to the equation. Following the early departure of two-year starting punter Aaryn Siposs for the NFL, Auburn was left with no punters on scholarship and no clear plan of succession at the position as no punter was signed as part of the 2020 class. Malzahn was asked at the time about the plan at punter, but he didn’t want to tip his hand. He played his cards close to his chest while acknowledging the team was still in the market for a punter. “We feel like we’ve got a real good plan already,” Malzahn said that day. “I’m not ready to sit here and say what that is. But we have thought through that very extensively. Losing Siposs was obviously a big surprise toward the end, but we’ve got a plan, and (it would) probably be better off to say that at a later date.” That later date came on Tuesday, when Australian punter Oscar Chapman -- another product of Prokick Australia -- announced his commitment to Auburn, where he will be blueshirting (on scholarship this season while not counting toward the 2020 recruiting class). Chapman’s commitment may have come just weeks before the start of fall camp, but the process for him to come to Auburn was more than five months in the making. Become an Auburn Insider: Sign up here for $4.99 a month to text, chat directly with AL.com beat writers A former semi-professional Australian Rules football player with experience playing in the South Australian National Football League, the 21-year-old Chapman was first told about the opportunity to come to Auburn back in February. There was mutual interest between both sides, with Auburn’s coaches also in communication with Chapman’s coaches at Prokick Australia, the punting academy that was established in 2007 to help place Australian athletes at American colleges with the goal of transitioning to a career in the NFL. The academy has been ultra successful with its athletes, producing 75 punters over the last 13 years, including five Ray Guy Award-winners and 17 All-Americans. Siposs was neither of those during his two years on the Plains, but Auburn still found success in its first foray into the Australian punting pool. Siposs started each of his two seasons at Auburn, averaging 44 yards per punt during his college career before ultimately signing with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent this spring. So, with a sudden opening at punter following Siposs’ unexpected departure, Auburn looked into building onto that pipeline with Prokick Australia. “I’ve always trusted in the process, and as soon as I was offered, I knew nothing was going to change my mind about Auburn,” Chapman told AL.com late Tuesday night. Despite discussions between Auburn and Prokick Australia beginning in February, the two parties couldn’t make anything official until Chapman could get all of his paperwork -- both academically and in terms of acquiring a visa -- in order. The continued spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in issues across the world, impacted that process considerably for Chapman. “The interest was there but couldn’t be confirmed for a while, and then COVID came and slowed things down, so it sort of evolved over time,” Chapman said. As COVID-19 continued to affect Chapman’s future plans, the 21-year-old never wavered on his desire to come to America and pursue an opportunity at the college level. Much of the last five months have been spent focusing on his training as he prepared himself mentally and physically for SEC football. His routine included waking up daily at 4 a.m. and working out in the gym, followed by punting sessions and then running a couple of times each afternoon. It was all part of the process to “create good habits” to take with him overseas when things eventually got sorted out. Through it all, he said he never had second thoughts about coming to the U.S., even as the country became the epicenter for the virus while other nations curbed the spread of COVID-19. “It’s tough times for everyone at the moment, but for me it was an easy decision,” Chapman said. “I just have to make sure I’m going the right thing and that the people around me are so that we can have a great season. The virus has slowed down some processes, but there’s always a way to push through. Having my Prokick Australia coaches help has been amazing -- having their knowledge of the system and connections has helped me get everything I have needed.” Chapman, who will be classified as a freshman, expects to arrive at Auburn on Aug. 1. As he has continued to prepare physically for this next chapter, he has also sought out advice from those who came before him through Prokick Australia. The punters at the academy have a group chat with many of the athletes who have already gone through college, and they’ve also had the opportunity to train with some of them firsthand when they return from the the U.S. Chapman has used those resources, as well as a trip to the U.S. last year with Prokick Australia, to gain more punting knowledge and learn more about what to expect from college life. He has not had a one-on-one conversation with Siposs during the last five months, but he has spoken to the former Tiger, who was part of last year’s Prokick Australia trip, about his experiences playing in the SEC -- and he’s eager to follow in his footsteps and make a name for himself at Auburn. “I’ve followed football for a long time, and to be able to play it would be an honor,” Chapman said. “I’m really looking forward to putting my head down and working hard to deliver for the team and the fans. I’m excited to be a part of an amazing program and to spend the next four years in Auburn. I’ve been told that the Auburn fans are some of the best in the country, and I can’t wait to meet them all and become part of the Auburn family.” 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paladin 3,305 Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 (edited) Quote WATCH: Highlights of Auburn's next punter, Oscar Chapman ByKEITH NIEBUHR 3 hours ago Tuesday, Auburn landed its next punter. That's when Australian Oscar Chapman of ProKick Australia announced via Twitter he had accepted an offer to play for the Tigers beginning this season. At the time of his announcement, not much was known about the 21-year-old Aussie but we later tracked him down and got lots of important information. Now, we have video of him practicing his kicks. This clip of Chapman was posted on Twitter. Chapman confirmed to Auburn Undercover it was him in the video. How far are his kicks traveling in this video? We don't know. What we do know is a 5-second hang time is considered to be quite good -- and if our stop-watch work is correct each of his punts in this clip are in that neighborhood. Said Chapman: "In my recent workouts I work on technique and directional punts. I typically hit 5.0-plus second balls. But I’ve hit a few 5.7s when just working on power." We expect Chapman to join the Auburn program later this summer. "I should arrive at Auburn around the 1st of August," Chapman said. "I’ll be coming in ready to play this season." According to Chapman, he is coming to Auburn as a freshman and will have four years of eligibility. ProKick Australia is the same organization through which Auburn landed its previous starting punter -- Arryn Siposs. With Siposs leaving early for the NFL (somewhat surprisingly) after the 2019 season, the Tigers had a major need at punter. Chapman was born in Adelaide, south Australia. "I’ve lived here my whole life," Chapman told Auburn Undercover. "I moved to Melbourne last year to train with ProKick Australia. I’ve been training (with ProKick Australia) for one year. I was playing semi-professional Aussie rules football before that." According to Chapman, he is 6-feet-3, 210 pounds. When Chapman arrives at Auburn in August, it will be his time stepping foot on campus there. "I haven’t visited Auburn," he said. "I’ve done my research on the school and it’s incredible. I can’t wait to be there in person. My coaches -- Nathan Chapman and John Smith -- from ProKick Australia thought that this college would be a perfect fit for me and it’s an opportunity I couldn’t say no to." ProKick Australia has developed a high number of college and pro kickers in recent years. Siposs, a former professional Australian rules footballer, had to switch sports because of injuries. He was trained to kick the American football by ProKick Australia and was a valuable player during his two seasons with the Tigers. He has since signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Lions of the NFL. Edited July 23, 2020 by Paladin 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steeleagle 2,945 Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 10 hours ago, Paladin said: Listening to the background music on his video made me feel like I was watching Field of Dreams...and hearing Ray say: “Is there a heaven?” or “Hey, dad? You wanna have a catch?” 😪 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFDTiger80 790 Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 Nice video. Great hang time. Digging this get! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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