University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Fall Camp and First Impressions: College Football as an Australian Punter
9/30/2019 9:24:00 AM | Football
Graduate student Matt Bromell talks through his first few weeks of football with the Golden Eagles.
Graduate student Matt Bromell from Melbourne, Australia, talks through his first experiences with college football and the Golden Eagles.
I wouldn't have believed you if you told me a year ago that I'd be wearing a helmet and pads playing American football in any capacity, let alone at a DI college in South Mississippi, and after my first month of playing, I'd have kicked against two SEC opponents on national TV. Back then I also wouldn't have known what DI or the SEC was. So even though it hadn't always been my dream to play college football, I was quick to realize I'm living out that dream I didn't know I had.
Oftentimes it feels I've woken up in the morning as a character in a movie or a Blue Mountain State episode, as so much of our understanding of American college life and football comes from Hollywood. Waking up and walking out of my dorm, the first thing I see is the two practice fields and the Rock looming over everything, and even two months into my time here at Southern Miss it still feels surreal.
The first thing I picked up on was the intensity of practice, and life with the team in general. Fall camp was a ruthless month of nothing but football – I'd trained for it, but living it out is another thing; when you're not practicing, you're in meetings, and when you're not in meetings, you're getting treatment, or recovering for the next day. (Yes punters actually get sore too.) Bad performance leads to being sidelined, and everyone is always trying to prove themselves. It was four weeks of healthy but fiery competition; it was a baptism by fire for college football, and was exactly what I needed.
What all the Aussie guys who came through my punting academy back home in Australia eventually find out is that nothing will prepare you for the real deal. The scale of college football and sheer intensity of a game is incredible. Running out with the team to the cheering of fans, the band rocking and fireworks was something you can't replicate through practice in a quiet suburban sports field in Melbourne. It was an amazing, petrifyingly brilliant feeling of 'Oh boy… so this is what you got yourself into.' I'd never played sport in front of more than maybe 100 people before the Alcorn State game, and I'd never played in an actual game of American football, or attended one. Nerves were a factor in the build up to my first couple of outings, but they all disappear once you're suited up for kickoff and the game's rolling. It's time to go and you know you've done the work to be ready for the moment.
Another aspect of the sport that intrigued me was that there are a lot of people on an American football team. It always astounded me watching at home on TV, that absolute army of helmets bouncing up and down waiting to run through the tunnel onto the field. I'd wonder how could all of them possibly have their own role on the team? How can that many players be needed when there are only 11 on the field at any one time? Then I learned about offense and defense, and particularly the variety of special teams. One thing you learn quickly is that despite its complexity, the game is simply a combination of a number of plays, made by a number of players, no different from any other sport, and the ability to execute in the moment will win the it. Everyone is a piece of the puzzle that needs to be completed to function properly, from the starting QB to the punter, the puzzle is just a little larger. Bad passes and interceptions can be just as detrimental to the team as a shanked punt, or a missed block or tackle. So when I run out with the guys, I know my task is simple: do my job, and just trust my teammate next to me do his. Everyone matters, and all the 70 or so players that dress are in it together.Â
Â
I wouldn't have believed you if you told me a year ago that I'd be wearing a helmet and pads playing American football in any capacity, let alone at a DI college in South Mississippi, and after my first month of playing, I'd have kicked against two SEC opponents on national TV. Back then I also wouldn't have known what DI or the SEC was. So even though it hadn't always been my dream to play college football, I was quick to realize I'm living out that dream I didn't know I had.
Oftentimes it feels I've woken up in the morning as a character in a movie or a Blue Mountain State episode, as so much of our understanding of American college life and football comes from Hollywood. Waking up and walking out of my dorm, the first thing I see is the two practice fields and the Rock looming over everything, and even two months into my time here at Southern Miss it still feels surreal.
The first thing I picked up on was the intensity of practice, and life with the team in general. Fall camp was a ruthless month of nothing but football – I'd trained for it, but living it out is another thing; when you're not practicing, you're in meetings, and when you're not in meetings, you're getting treatment, or recovering for the next day. (Yes punters actually get sore too.) Bad performance leads to being sidelined, and everyone is always trying to prove themselves. It was four weeks of healthy but fiery competition; it was a baptism by fire for college football, and was exactly what I needed.
What all the Aussie guys who came through my punting academy back home in Australia eventually find out is that nothing will prepare you for the real deal. The scale of college football and sheer intensity of a game is incredible. Running out with the team to the cheering of fans, the band rocking and fireworks was something you can't replicate through practice in a quiet suburban sports field in Melbourne. It was an amazing, petrifyingly brilliant feeling of 'Oh boy… so this is what you got yourself into.' I'd never played sport in front of more than maybe 100 people before the Alcorn State game, and I'd never played in an actual game of American football, or attended one. Nerves were a factor in the build up to my first couple of outings, but they all disappear once you're suited up for kickoff and the game's rolling. It's time to go and you know you've done the work to be ready for the moment.
Another aspect of the sport that intrigued me was that there are a lot of people on an American football team. It always astounded me watching at home on TV, that absolute army of helmets bouncing up and down waiting to run through the tunnel onto the field. I'd wonder how could all of them possibly have their own role on the team? How can that many players be needed when there are only 11 on the field at any one time? Then I learned about offense and defense, and particularly the variety of special teams. One thing you learn quickly is that despite its complexity, the game is simply a combination of a number of plays, made by a number of players, no different from any other sport, and the ability to execute in the moment will win the it. Everyone is a piece of the puzzle that needs to be completed to function properly, from the starting QB to the punter, the puzzle is just a little larger. Bad passes and interceptions can be just as detrimental to the team as a shanked punt, or a missed block or tackle. So when I run out with the guys, I know my task is simple: do my job, and just trust my teammate next to me do his. Everyone matters, and all the 70 or so players that dress are in it together.Â
Â
Players Mentioned
P
/ Football2026 National Signing Day Press Conference with Blake Anderson
Wednesday, February 04
Southern Miss 2026 National Signing Day
Wednesday, February 04
Christian Ostrander Preseason Press Conference
Monday, January 19
Blake Anderson Introductory Press Conference
Monday, December 15