Eric Morris Recounts Hilarious Moment with First Australian Punter he Coached

The Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach has an Aussie punter this year and he recounted his hilarious moment with the first one he coached.

Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Eric Morris has plenty of respect for punter Lachie Pozzobon.

Morris and his staff grabbed the punter from Stephen F. Austin, where he spent his freshman year helping the Lumberjacks reach the FCS playoffs. Before last season, Pozzobon hadn't played American football. That's the case for many Australian players who come to the U.S. to punt.

Many of them get their start in either rugby or Australian rules football and the skills they attain translate to American football.

Morris has big plans for Pozzobon, but during his media availability on Tuesday he was asked whether he had experience with any other Australian punters. He admitted he had and then recounted one of the most hilarious things that has ever happened to him in a football game.

Eric Morris Tells His Punter to Kick the Ball out of Bounds

Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Morris became a head coach for the first time in 2018 at Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. The FCS program was less than a decade old and had little success to that point. The Cardinals were in the final moments of winning their second game of the season, this one over Abilene Christian. They were up 10.

David Balcomb was his punter. The native of Gordon, Australia, averaged 39.4 yards per punt that season. ACU had a dangerous returner and with a 10-point lead Morris knew the only way the Wildcats could get back in the game was to return a punt for a touchdown. So, Morris gave Balcomb one direction — punt it out of bounds. Morris wanted no part of a return.

Balcomb did what Morris asked. But something was hilariously lost in translation.

“He literally catches it. He walks straight sideways, minus 14-yard punt, straight into the stands,” Morris said. “You can see me on tape. I fell to my knees, like holy smokes.”

What happened? Morris still isn’t totally clear. He said that he thinks there is a rule in rugby that allows the ball to be punted out of bounds. Turns out you can. It’s called kicking into “touch” and it determines how the game resets. In American football, that gave the Wildcats about 15 years in positive field position — and put Morris on the firing line of a lot of feedback from his family and friends.

“I had like some of the worst text messages I've ever had in my life — how dumb I was as a coach,” he said. “Especially for my family that were watching this game live on TV. So, I've learned from that you have to explain sometimes.”

Pozzobon shouldn’t be an issue for Morris this year. He’s been in American football for a year. But count on Morris being precise when it comes to punt team this year, just in case.