Former Queensland under-18 defender Gavin Urquhart may have been de-listed by the Kangaroos this season but his sporting career is far from over.
He’s heading to the US to try his hand (or more specifically his foot) at American Football after being signed as a punter with the University of Southern California Coyotes.
Urquhart follows in the steps of a host of former players who have reinvented themselves as American Footballers after finishing their AFL careers.
He has been training with ProKick Australia, under former AFL player Nathan Chapman, who had a stint in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers back in 2004.
Coyotes head coach David Miller was excited at the chance to have Urquhart join his team for the upcoming college football season.
“Just watch the film, every kick, boom, every punt, sounds like a gunshot and the ball disappears into the night. He drains the ball out of the end zone on every kickoff and he’s an Australian Rules guy that loves contact,” Miller said.
“Our biggest challenge will be keeping him out of the pile, he plays rough and violent which makes him one of us. We extremely happy that ProKick Australia is trusting us with Gavin for a season.”
The Coyotes will proudly add the Australian flag to the back of their helmets this season, to sit alongside the Italian and American colours representing the nationalities of their players.
Urquhart will meet his new teammates for the first time at a pre-season training camp beginning November 13.
