A little over a week ago, Rutgers football landed a commitment from Flynn Appleby, a former Australian Rules Football standout who is coming in as a punter with the Scarlet Knights. Appleby’s journey to the Big Ten program was aided by a former Rutgers football punter who is also Australian and is now mentoring his countrymen in the American sport.
And it surely didn’t hurt that current Rutgers punter Adam Korsak, an Australian as well, has developed into one of the top punters in college football over the past three years.
But, back to Appleby now.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Appleby engaged with Tim Gleeson, a former Rutgers punter who is now working with ProKick Australia, an organization that mentors future kickers and punters down under.
Because of the similarities in the kicking used in American college football and Australian Rules Football, Gleeson has had success in landing a number of his athletes on scholarship in the United States.
At the time, Appleby was playing Australian Rules Football professionally, but he was intrigued by the American version of the game. It led to what Gleeson says is a perfect fit with Rutgers football, now set for their season under head coach Greg Schiano.
“Last year, we spoke with coach Scheier (former Rutgers special teams coordinator) about possibly redshirting someone behind Adam. As someone who has seen every punt of Korsak’s since his debut, I knew Flynn would be the prime candidate to replace him,” Gleeson told RutgersWire.
“His rollout ability and touch that he can put on the football is second to nine. Additionally, his attitude and attention to detail fits what Schiano would be seeking in a player.”
Korsak, who will play his final season at Rutgers this fall, has just five career touchbacks and hasn’t had a touchback over the past two seasons.
He averaged a career-high 45.8 yards per punt in 2021 and 38 of his 72 punts landed inside the 20-yard line.
The comparisons to Korsak will be…
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