Julie (mom): Our son, Nathan, is a punter for  Mississippi State. His number is 38. We thought Mississippi State would be a good fit with the country atmosphere, and the Specialist team at Mississippi has been absolutely awesome to him, making him feel very welcome. Nathan has always been sporting; he played Rugby League from under 6’s through under 16’s. He has also played cricket, oz tag, touch football, and represented in all of those sports.

Daryl (dad): Nathan went to Kiama High School from Year seven to Year 10, then to Tocal College for 2 years (an AG College) at the age of 16. A farmer out West wanted a young bloke to help with harvesting on their 40,000 acres for a season; Nathan went out there for six weeks. The farmer loved Nathan’s work ethic and offered him a full-time job. The owners looked after him like their own son. They set him up in his own little house on the farm and took him into town to get his driver’s license. They even paid for him to get his CDL and B-Double licence to drive trucks and semis. He worked there for five years, and. During that time, he also joined the local Australian Football League team.

Nath came home a few years later and played rugby league with his brother, then went to ProKick in Melbourne, training to be a professional punter at a college in the U.S. He trained every day and went to Uni (university). He finally got the opportunity to be a punter at Mississippi State with a four-year scholarship. We told him to go for it–his hard work is paying off.

Julie: Nathan is 25 and independent, so this isn’t as overwhelming as it would have been at 18. He was very grateful for the chance to be a punter at Mississippi State and won’t let anyone down. Everyone has a car, but Nath gets around on a scooter. Some of his mates on the specialist team drove him around to buy furniture and helped him set up his room in his apartment. Nathan is ready to play a lot more game time and prove himself to the coach and his teammates. His coach told him his time will come. Nath knows punting is a hard position, and he’ll work as hard as needed to play. We call it the mongrel dog determination: it’s giving 110 percent in everything you do.

A year ago, we never would have guessed we’d be sitting here in Starkville, Mississippi. We’re pinching ourselves. Did we just watch that Tennessee game that went into overtime? The atmosphere was unbelievable, and everyone was so nice to us Aussies.

Uncle Brett: I went to the 2000 Olympics–it wasn’t anything like college football.

Aunty Sharon: We are all so proud of Nathan. We keep telling him to enjoy this amazing experience and take it all in.

Samantha (sister): We have nothing like this in Australia. America is so different from what we thought. Everyone is so polite and friendly–a guy even opened the door for me.

Julie: This is our first trip to the U.S. We flew into L.A., then flew to Nashville and spent a few nights in both. We drove from Nashville to Starkville on game day and learnt how to drive on the left side of the road in traffic. We got there in time for the Dog Walk, which was incredible. And the tailgating was awesome. We met two sisters who helped us out and told us all about Mississippi. They are locals and go to every home game.

Samantha: All of our family got together at our home for a last hurrah before Nathan left. Then we all got up at 2 a.m. in Australia to watch Nathan’s first game. 

Julie: Nathan’s grandparents were always his motivation. My Dad (Nathan’s Pop) died 12 months ago, and Mum (Nathan’s Grandma) died eight years ago, but I have a locket with their photo inside. So I brought them along in this locket and kept it open so they could see Nath play. My mother loved butterflies; when we see one now, it’s a reminder of her. A butterfly landed on a lady in front of us during the game. Out of 64,000 people, this butterfly landed on the lady in front of us; it was so beautiful. Mum couldn’t miss out on anything. Even when Mum was unwell, she came to see my youngest son in a school play. She looked terrible, but she didn’t care. She was watching her grandson in a school play, and that’s all that mattered. That’s where the mongrel dog comes from. And I’m just like my mum; I have the mongrel dog in me too. My husband is a gentle giant.

Next year, the cousins and the rest of the family are coming over for a game. Mississippi State better watch out because you’re going to hear us.