NFL Draft: NFL cities ready yourself for Miami FL P Lou Hedley the "Tattooed Punter"
In early 1993, Australian rules footballer Darren Bennett began a trend that is stronger than ever nearly 30 years later.
The story is that Bennett won plane tickets that coincided with his honeymoon. A few phone calls and one thing led to the next, and he found himself having a tryout with the San Diego Chargers.
Since 1993, Bennett has helped establish a pipeline for punters exiting their careers in Australian rules football and giving it a go here in the states.
Australian rules football or “Footy” is the country’s national pastime, and once you arrive in the Southern Hemisphere to ‘the land down under’ this is the sport that captivates the nation.
“Australian rules football is our main sport throughout Australia,” first-team All-ACC punter Lou Hedley said. “Everyone breathes football over there. It’s a culture. As soon as I could walk, my dad threw a football in my hand.”
The ball his father threw to him is designed to be kicked. Smaller than an NFL ball and not as pointed, Hedley, like most Australians, mastered the art of punting early on. While his father likely envisioned his son playing at the highest level of Australian rules football, he was also preparing him unknowingly for an opportunity to play in the NFL.
“It’s a little different than the process over here,” Hedley said about playing sports in America. “I got up to a semi-professional level. You get drafted out of high school in Australia. There are no college systems or anything like that. So, it’s kind of a little different.”
Hedley saw the success of Mitch Wishnowsky of the San Francisco 49ers. The Australian-born NFL punter was drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft after playing his college career at Utah. Prior to a few shoulder injuries that forced him out of “Footy,” Wishnowsky was playing Australia’s sport or sports.
Sporting a stylish mustache and tattooed sleeves that reach just below his chin, Hedley is as unique as his background as being a 2023 NFL Draft prospect. City College of San Francisco was his JUCO invitation to American football.
“It was a little scary,” Hedley said. “I got there about a week before the first game. I never even experienced catching a snap from a long snapper.”
A whirlwind of newness swirled around Hedley as he settled into a new country, sport and lifestyle as an ex-Australian footballer punting in junior college. That’s just daunting to type, let alone think about and downright intimidating to live through.
This 6-foot-3 and 223-pound Aussie took it head-on.
“It was a fast-learning track,” Hedley said. “I didn’t have the best year statistically, but after that, I trusted in myself and knew I had the talent to come and play for a team like Miami. I chose to redshirt my second year of junior college in 2018 and was fortunate to have a coach watch me kick from Miami. Fortunately, I had a good day and haven’t looked back since.”
Hedley, 29, became an internet sensation after ESPN posted his alluringly striking looks. Some admirers were drawn to his abilities to help the Canes win, and others were drawn to those tattoos and mustache. He was recognized annually on the Ray Guy watchlist to be a finalist, proving his social media presence was more than good looks. He was establishing himself as one of the top punters available in this draft class.
Amongst the three top college all-star games, Hedley was invited to punt at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Los Angeles earlier this year. It allowed him to allow teams to know there is more than tattoos and just a good story about a guy from Australia.
During his time at Miami, NFL scouts learned early of his huge leg power. They identified the ball exploding off his foot. His awareness and ability to get the football off without consequences was a testament to his lifelong relationship with kicking an Australian rules football. The shape and size might be different, but that ball he holds for a split second before launching it downfield is something of a romance. It’s not leather. It’s a companion that has changed over time. He knows just how to treat it.
“I think I answered a lot of questions during the NFLPA (Collegiate Bowl),” Hedley said. “I primarily did a lot of roll-out stuff. Similar to Mitch (Wishnowksy) at Utah throughout his career. So, they kind of wanted to see if I could hit these spirals. I was able to do that in front of most teams or 32 teams. I think it helped a lot having a lot of tools in the tool belt.”
With a lifetime career average of 45.2 yards per punt, he out-punted in distance more than half of the punters invited to Indianapolis for the NFL Combine. Hedley averaged more than three of the five in attendance.
Hedley joked that he was an unknown while at City College in San Francisco, and as soon as he got to Miami, he was known as the “tattooed punter” among those who love college football.
If he makes it in the NFL, he’ll be known worldwide as the “tattooed punter” of professional football in both the states and Australia.
