Older, Wiser McCarthy Embraces IU Punting Opportunity
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - There’s taking the road less traveled.
Then there’s the route Australian native Mitch McCarthy took to become Indiana’s new punter.
The 6-foot-5, 230-pound senior transfer from UCF has been a courier for an Australian plumbing company, a professional Australian rules football player, a disability support worker and even, briefly, an American high school basketball player.
It’s led to this upcoming college finale, and the 27-year-old McCarthy can’t wait.
“I understand how tough the real world is,” he says. “I spent six years working. I know how lucky I am to have a football team and play a sport at a high level.”
What can this mean for the Hoosiers? In 37 games and 115 career punts over three seasons at UCF, McCarthy averaged 43.0 yards, with a long of 64 yards, another at 60, and multiple 50-plus yarders.
While booming punts generate attention, consistency drives McCarthy. He’s had 39 punts land inside the 20-yard line.
“Asking how far I can kick it is misleading because I think everyone in the Big Ten can kick a 70-yard ball,” he says. “You wouldn’t be playing if you couldn’t.
“For consistency, the biggest thing I’m working on is swinging less. If you play golf, when you overswing or overkick, you usually miskick it or mishit it.
“My thing is backing off to about 70 percent. You still get the result you want, but you can be more compact and consistent instead of trying to kick the leather off the ball. Consistency comes down to the drop as well. Getting snaps, catching, working on your hands. Those are the biggest keys.”
McCarthy first came to the United States to play basketball, arriving in California in 2015. He called it his “No. 1 love” and showed enough promise to get college offers, his first coming from Valparaiso University in northwestern Indiana.
Still, he was young, and the challenges -- including culture shock and home sickness -- were too much. He returned to Australia.
“The first time it got tough, I bailed. In hindsight, that wasn’t the right thing to do, but I was a 17- to 18-year-old kid.”
An opportunity to sign with a professional Australian rules football club lessened the blow. In 2016, he was the seventh overall pick in the Australian Football League rookie draft.
“I knew the Australian Rules was still viable,” he says. “I thought, if I don’t like it in America, I can always go home. There would be a contract there.”
There was, but it didn’t turn out the way McCarthy had hoped. The physical pounding of Australian football wore on him. By 2018, punting began intriguing him.
“I wanted to give (Australian football) my best crack. I got through it but didn’t get the interest I wanted. My body was starting to get old and sore. Punting was the next high-level thing I could do with the least amount of load. There’s no running or much jumping.”
That led him to ProKick Australia, a renowned kicking school that has produced two previous IU punters in James Evans (2021-24) and Hayden Whitehead (2017-20). ProKick Australia’s success in developing kickers and punters comes in part from its unique approach, McCarthy says.
“Some days, they throw stuff at you that you think ‘I'm never going to need this,’ but it works. It does prepare you.
“They’ve sent so many people over to the United States. They know what it takes to be successful.”
That included throwing drills, something that ProKick Australia director Nathan Chapman pushed constantly.
“People would tell me to practice throwing while I was out kicking,” McCarthy says. “I never threw a ball like an American football growing up. They would say work on your throwing, work on your throwing. It’s important. Nathan Chapman would push that.”
McCarthy said he had to fight against his Australian rules football training, where players lateral backward to each other rather than pass forward.
“Us boys would like to hand ball it back, which is how we pass in our sport,” McCarthy says. “(Chapman would) tell us, you have to throw it short, and if you’re going to throw it short, be accurate.
“My coach at UCF expected me to throw a 30-yard pass, which I had never done before. That was a learning curve. To my credit, I don’t think I missed (on a pass during a fake punt), but I got some criticism about my technique.”
McCarthy didn’t care.
“As long as the ball got from point A to point B, it didn’t matter.”
McCarthy entered the transfer portal last December with Indiana University on his mind. Evans’ success was a factor given the ProKick connection. So was the fact IU was coming off a historic 11-2 season with its first-ever playoff appearance.
“The fact they had a very good year stood out to me,” McCarthy says. “(UCF) didn’t go to a bowl game, so I started (the transfer process) pretty early. Because I was a basketballer before I was a footballer, I knew about the Hoosiers. That was exciting.”
McCarthy said he’d never met last year’s IU punter Evans until making his official visit.
“He helped me introduce me to the program and what's ok and what's not.”
McCarthy says playing in Florida didn’t prepare him for the windy cold he faced in the spring in Bloomington and will again at some point this season.
“I’d be lying if I said I was comfortable doing it,” he says. “Even in the pros, no one wants to kick on a windy day. Florida was windy. The cold here is something that’s new, so it’s combining those two.”
One spring practice had McCarthy punting in winds approaching 40 mph.
“It was good to get reps out there like that. It’s something I’m working on, so I’ll be ready when the season starts.”
While basketball first drew McCarthy to the United States, he has no interest in returning to the sport. Still, has he gone to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall to try his shooting luck?
“I think I’d airball the first few jump shots,” he says with a smile. “It’s been a while. I can’t remember the last time I picked up a basketball and shot it.”
Then he reflects on the journey that led to this IU punting opportunity.
“The second time I came to America, I had the knowledge and wisdom that comes from six years of working.
“It’s funny how it all works out and where you end up.”