By Iain Payten
You can’t walk down a street in America these days without tripping over an Australian punter.
The export market of kickers who have switched Sherrins for Wilsons is now so big that in recent years as many as one in three punters in the 120 FSB (NCAA division 1) college football teams have been Australians.
And following on from early trailblazers like Darren Bennett, Ben Graham and Sav Rocca, Australians continue to have an outsized presence in the NFL, led by the game’s highest-paid punter Michael Dickson, who plays with the Seattle Seahawks.
So for American audiences to be wowed by the story of former Perth scaffolder Lou Hedley says everything about the originality of a rookie punter labelled “the most interesting man in the NFL”.
Lou Hedley is becoming a cult hero before he’s even kicked a ball.Credit: Getty
At the ripe old age of 30, Hedley will make his debut for the New Orleans Saints on Monday (3am AEST), punting against the Tennessee Titans at the Louisiana Superdome.
But before he has even kicked a ball, Hedley’s profile is already skyrocketing, courtesy of his heavily-tattooed physique, a social media bromance with Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson and the unlikeliest journey taken to an NFL roster in many years.
Hedley grew up in Leeman in Western Australia, a fishing town with a population of about 700 where his father was a cray fisherman. After moving to Perth when he was 10, Hedley set his sights on becoming a footballer and though promising enough at fullback to play reserves for Peel Thunder in the WAFL, he didn’t push on further.
Having dropped out of school, Hedley became a scaffolder at 17 and, as he worked on skyscrapers and mine sites for the next five years, developed a passion for tattoos. With good mate and now Fremantle defender Nathan Wilson, Hedley even became a co-owner of a tattoo shop in Bali.
He is covered neck to toe in ink, and now delights US media by running through some of his more interesting tattoos, which includes one of aliens kidnapping a cow.
The flame of Hedley’s sporting ambition hadn’t died, though, and after impressing with his big right kicking boot at a trial with ProKick Australia coaches in WA, he was invited to Melbourne to join the respected academy.
Run by Nathan Chapman and John Smith, ProKick Australia began in 2007 to help turn AFL athletes into punters and is now a pumping production line for US colleges, who love the Aussie kickers. Since 2007 seven graduates have received the best college kicker award, hundreds have won scholarships and four are currently active on NFL rosters – including Hedley.
“We knew he had some tattoos but he just, straight away, showed himself to be humble, quiet and determined and that was a really good start,” Chapman said.
“Visually, he was different to the general profile. But he just got to work. He was like ‘hey I am here, I have moved interstate and sacrificed a lot to have a crack at something where I don’t know the outcome’ and he wanted to do it. So his energy towards that shone through.”
“He could kick the ball, he was strong, he loved the gym and we knew we had a real special talent there.”
Because Hedley had not finished school, he had to go to Junior College in San Francisco to get the grades to qualify for a major university. Hedley sold his share in the tattoo shop, moved into a share house with 12 other athletes and, after 18 months of impressive ‘JuCo’ form, major colleges were knocking on the door of the 193cm, 100kg artwork.
Hedley was recruited to the University of Miami in 2019, where he made an instant impact – tattoos aside – by choosing the number of former player, Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson.
“I learned about the history of it and when I found out the Rock went there and wore 94. I was a huge fan of his growing up, me and my brother used to watch all the wrestling matches. I thought it would be cool to follow in his footsteps,” Hedley said recently.
Johnson tweeted his support to Hedley and the pair have continued to trade messages.
Lou Hedley punting for University of Miami in the no.94.Credit: Getty
Hedley’s career in Miami was a huge success, averaging 45.2 yards (41.3m) in three seasons, and in an accomplishment he rates as equal to his athletic achievement, Hedley also earned a bachelor’s degree in sport administration in 2021 at Miami, before a master’s degree in liberal studies.
Hedley was initially overlooked in the NFL draft, but New Orleans signed the Australian as a free agent. After continuing to impress with his “versatility” and work ethic in the pre-season, Hedley then beat the Saints’ incumbent punter to a full-time spot on the 53-man roster, and a guaranteed salary of $A1.1 million.
“I always had NFL on the horizon ... so coming over here and working my butt off, it definitely feels surreal but it’s definitely earned. I have worked really hard to get to this point,” Hedley said last week.
Hedley joins Dickson (Seahawks), fellow WA product Mitch Wishnowsky (49ers) and Cameron Johnston (Texans) as Australians punting in the NFL in 2023, with Arryn Siposs (Eagles) having been put back to the practice squad after playing in the Super Bowl last year.
Chapman said while the colourful aspects of Hedley’s journey are many, the most important was a willingness to put in plain old hard work.
“It is not easy, it doesn’t just happen,” Chapman said.
“There is a lot of work that goes into it, and it’s why we get really proud because you can’t hurry this. It is an amazing opportunity and a job not many people get to do but it took him six years to do it.”
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