Thunder From Down Under: Tom Maginness' Journey to UNC

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. --- Before last Monday's press conference, North Carolina head coach Mack Brown shared a quick note with reporters that the ceiling of UNC's indoor practice facility was a little too low for new Australian punter Tom Maginness. "And that's a good thing," Brown added with a smile.

"I need to get him to raise it another 10 meters, I think," Maginness said later with a laugh.

Maginness arrived on UNC's campus the second week of January. He was a little late due to some Visa issues that eventually got sorted out. When he arrived at UNC it was his first time ever in the United States.

An Australian Rules Football player, Maginness is one of many Australians who have made the journey to America to punt at the college football level. They have mostly all come from ProKick Australia, an organization that trains and prepares prospects for punting in American football and essentially matches them with a college football program that they believe will be a good fit. Maginness had heard of the Tar Heels -- "Everyone knows UNC back home," he told reporters.

Maginness spent one year in college in Australia but then took a gap year to save eligibility and focus on preparing to punt in the states. He trained for two years with ProKick Australian, learning the basic rules of American football, practicing with the different ball, and understanding the schemes and formations that help lay the foundation of what he would need to know once he arrived at a college in the United States.

"They really helped that simulate what it'd be like here," Maginness said. "We did a lot of stuff, different types of kicks. We did a lot of scrimmage work, which has really helped me out, so a lot of work like kicking behind on the shield and then learning formations and stuff."

He said the process with North Carolina started back in September with conversations with UNC special teams coordinator Larry Porter. "We talked all throughout the season, and then up until December when they offered me the scholarship. We got all the papers sorted and then I came here," Maginness explained.

He will have three seasons of eligibility at North Carolina.

Maginness said he understands his role on the field for special teams, but does not understand the other complexities of the game yet. The plan is for Maginness to spend a year behind current UNC punter Ben Kiernan and then take over the job before the 2024 season.

An Australian player is still a novelty in college football, despite more and more Aussies infiltrating special teams across the country. Maginness said he has been asked about kangaroos. "I keep saying they are like deer. They're pests... They're everywhere... I've been asked if we keep them as pets and do we ride them? That's a weird one. " he said.

He was asked by a reporter on Monday about Vegemite, a food spread that originated in his hometown. "I don't like it, but I always get people to try it," Maginness said.

And he said his biggest issue with the United States is actually with the toilets. "Your water is a bit too high. I don't like your toilets. If you go to Australia, it's right at the bottom. It's perfect," he said.

Otherwise, he said that so far the United States and Chapel Hill aren't too different from where he is from in Melbourne. Australia. The weather is similar, though it's summer right now back home. Maginness did some quick Celsius to Fahrenheit conversions to explain it. The mild winter temperatures of 40-50 degrees in Chapel Hill in January align to a Melbourne winter.

"It's more similar than you think. There is not a whole lot of different, except driving on the other side of the road. That's a bit weird," Maginness said.

Maginness is not the first Australian to punt for UNC. He follows in the footsteps of Tom Sheldon, who kicked for the Tar Heels in 2016 and 2017. Sheldon averaged 42.7 yards per punt in 2016 and then 45.8 yards per punt in 2017. Maginness said he knows of Sheldon, but hasn't properly met him.

The end game is the NFL, Maginness said, but he is focused on his education and his role at UNC. "At the moment I just want to give back to Carolina, they've given me a life-changing opportunity."