The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
A punter’s journey from Australia to Austin
11.19.2016 | Football
Michael Dickson traveled over 8,000 miles for an opportunity at Texas and has become a Ray Guy Award semifinalist in 2016.
Michael Dickson had never watched a full game of football before suiting up against Notre Dame last year. A mere month before that, he fumbled with the pads on the first day of fall camp, unsure of how to put them on. When he dreamed of playing in the pros as a kid, it was the Australian Football League – not the NFL – that flashed through his mind.
In just his second year playing the sport, the sophomore punter's dominant performance has thrust him into consideration for the title of the nation's best punter as a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award. While he's admittedly still shaky on some of the more obscure football rules, Dickson is on pace to set a new school record with an average of 47.8 yards per kick.
"It's crazy the difference a year can make," Dickson said. "It feels so good to have this season after last year. I just always link it back to hard work. [Junior kicker] Mitchell Becker and I always talk about the correlation between hard work and success. We've seen with our own eyes how strong that correlation is."
If last year was a tidal wave of firsts for Dickson – his first year playing American football, first time living outside of his home country of Australia, first year in college – this year has been a continuation of the trend. His punting average ranks first in the Big 12 and third nationally. He's blazed a trail as the first Texas punter to be named a semifinalist for the Guy Award, boosting his resume with four punts soaring over 60 yards this season alone.
"When you think of all the playmakers on our team, Mike is right in there," head coach Charlie Strong said. "He's a real weapon for our defense. When he lines up out there to punt, we're all watching because there's no telling how far it's going to go. I tell our guys, 'You just need to get off the blocks and get down there and cover it because it's going a long way.'"
From an early age, Dickson was obsessed with kicking the ball far. He grew up playing Australian Rules Football, or footy, a sport that combines running, tackling and kicking an oval-shaped ball similar to an American football. Dickson remembers going out with a friend and kicking every day of the week, and eventually he emerged as a formidable talent on the reserves squad for a professional team.
"I took a lot of pride in kicking," Dickson said. "I'd try and hit spirals, which no one does in that sport. They go so much farther and everyone would love it. I'd always try to do that sort of stuff, so that's how the idea of me becoming a punter over here started out."
A year after he finished high school, Dickson's Australian football career stagnated, and he began to explore other options. Noting the migration of top Australian kickers to Division I colleges in America, his stepfather suggested that Dickson try his hand – or leg, rather – at American punting. So on a January morning, Dickson and his stepfather drove to a punting tryout with ProKick Australia, a training ground for aspiring punters run by Nathan Chapman, a former NFL and footy player. After the tryout, Dickson received an email from Chapman saying that he had the potential to punt at an American D-I school.
"My parents were just straight away so supportive of everything I wanted to do" Dickson said. "They listened to Chapman talk – we had some long phone calls – and he gave me and my parents the confidence that I'd be able to do this and succeed in it. Just getting my parents' support and their willingness to let me leave home made it a little easier."
Joining ProKick meant moving 600 miles to Melbourne, Australia to train. There, Dickson began the process of deconstructing and then rebuilding his kick under the guidance of Chapman. Outside of the grueling regimen, Dickson took a job washing cars at a local car rental shop to help pay for rent and groceries.
"Moving away from home, it was a good stepping stone," Dickson said. "It made the time zone change to America easier, but I also had to have a job and I had to work. It was a tough schedule because I made myself go to the gym and lift six, seven days a week. Plus punting on top of that. I enjoy the grind. I feed off it."
Dickson had prepared to spend a year with ProKick – the typical timeline for a protégé there – but after three months he was ready to shop his tape around to schools. Texas was in need of a punter, and so Charlie Strong and company took a chance on Dickson.
"I got warned by Nathan about the amount of pressure that they're going to put on me, and that really got me excited," Dickson said. "When I got here and saw the stadium, I was just blown away."
Dickson averaged a respectable 41.3 yards per punt in his first season and booted 17 balls for over 50 yards. But like many specialists, he quickly learned of the fickle nature of the game. In the final minute of a matchup against Oklahoma State, a snap slipped through his fingers, allowing the Cowboys excellent field position to set up a game-winning field goal. Even then, his network of Australian punters reached out to lift his spirits. Dickson remembers talking to Michigan punter Blake O'Neill, who later cost the Wolverines a victory when he fumbled a snap that Michigan State returned for a game-sealing touchdown.
"He was one of the older guys at ProKick when I was there," Dickson said. "We all thought he was the perfect punter. And then to see him to do the same thing – it just shows you that no matter how confident or no matter how good you are, there are just some things that aren't going to go right. And he bounced back and played great for the rest of the season. I learned something from that."
During the offseason, Dickson trained tirelessly to improve his accuracy and distance. The work showed in his first game against Notre Dame, where he set the new school record averaging 55.0 yards per punt on six attempts. The jitters before each punt have also subsided.
"I used to really be like, 'Oh man, I might have to punt soon,' and I'd have to kick so many balls into the net," Dickson said. "This year I'm just like 'Alright, let's do it.'"
Through it all, Dickson's parents have remained ardent supporters. They wake up at 3 a.m. to watch his afternoon games, and made the trek to watch him play in the Cotton Bowl this year.
"I loved it." Dickson said. It was great. I just love being able to walk on the sidelines and being able to see their faces. Just wave and see my mum with a big smile. It was a great feeling to see them there."
Dickson said he suffers from the occasional bout of homesickness. On hot days, he often yearns for the beaches back in Australia, and trips back home during the holidays offer a welcome respite from the wear and tear of the season. But after two years in America, he's found a second home on the football field in Austin.
"Sometimes someone will say, 'Oh man, I forgot you were Australian,'" Dickson said. "And I'll be like 'Yeah, honestly, I feel the same way.'
Dickson hopes to one day join the Australian punters playing on Sundays. In the meantime, he's got his sights set on maintaining the grades to transfer into the McCombs School of Business.
"When I find something that I like, I just get sort of obsessive about it," Dickson said. "I just love seeing progress in myself. If it was in the business side, I'd probably find a passion on the business side and do the same thing. I think it's just my personality."
Dickson said he hopes to start a tradition of bringing Australian punters to Texas.
"I'd love for the next punter to follow me to be Australian as well, just to hold a little Australian punting legacy here," Dickson said. "It's a good feeling, being able to be out here and trying to hold it down for your country."
