In front of approximately 30 million television viewers and 71,000 screaming fans, including basketball superstar LeBron James, Australian punter Joe McGuire secured his place in the exclusive club of college national championship winners, and it only took one punt.
With less than seven minutes remaining in the game, McGuire, the son of former Collingwood president and television star Eddie McGuire, nailed a 51-yard punt for Ohio State University that pinned Notre Dame deep in their own territory, helping to secure his side’s 34-23 victory.
McGuire squared off against fellow Australian James Rendell who punted twice for Notre Dame for a total of 97 yards as Ohio State were being pulled back from a 24-point lead in the third quarter.
Notre Dame rallied with two touchdowns to narrow the score to 31-23. But in the final minute, McGuire nervelessly caught and then held the ball for Jayden Fielding’s field goal, extending the Buckeyes’ lead by two points and ultimately sealing the championship.
McGuire joins fellow Australian punters Cameron Johnston who won Ohio State’s last title in 2014, and Brett Thorson who won a championship ring with Georgia in 2022, in elite company.
Before joining Ohio State in 2023, McGuire honed his punting skills in Melbourne through the Prokick program, spending two years slowly converting his skills from Australian Rules Football.
Ohio State punter Joe McGuire plays against Notre Dame during second half of the College Football Playoff national championship game Credit: AP
After spending his first year in Columbus, Ohio, on the sidelines, McGuire earned a starting spot as punter ahead of fellow Australian Nick McLarty before the first game of the season last August. His former Prokick coach Nathan Chapman put that down to his relentless determination.
“He had confidence in his own ability and coaches could have said, ‘no, we’re going to use someone else who had a bigger kick’ but he wore other people down, he remained consistent and just kept doing a good job and kept knocking the door down,” Chapman said.
“So that’s a credit to his own self-confidence to stick at it and remain determined to be better in his craft. He got the opportunity and he took it”.
Ohio State has now won nine national titles and the 23-year-old is likely to play three more seasons of college football before deciding if he will enter the NFL draft.
The punter is not a household name in Ohio with his profile on the university’s official website referencing a 2022 hat trick for Heatherhill Cricket Club. That will change now.
His former coach Chapman believes that Maguire’s next priority will be to focus on retaining his starting spot at Ohio State and finishing his degree.
“He’s got plenty of time, and he’s got to get educated with his degree, and worry about that [NFL draft] in three or four years time,” Chapman said.
“So he’s got plenty of stuff to learn, get better at, get more experience, and if the NFL door becomes open, great, but if it doesn’t, he’s certainly set himself up.”
