If you don’t know the name Michael Dickson, then you might not be watching too much American football, because this Aussie is the talk of the NFL world ahead of his September debut.
22-year-old Sydney-born Michael Dickson began his sporting life as an AFL player when he was a young lad, even joining the Sydney Swans Academy as a teen. However, his exceptional talent eventually took him over to the US, where he soon found himself playing American football for the University of Texas.
Now, he’s about to step up to the big league.
As SEN reports, Michael Dickson is about to make his debut for the Seattle Seahawks in just over a week, and the NFL world just can’t stop talking about him.
“It feels strangely pretty normal,” Dickson explained to Gerard Whateley. “I’m trying to keep everything the same, I’m not trying to hype anything up too much.”
“It’s in that sort of position where you need to have a pretty level head,” he continued. “I’m just trying be pretty casual about everything and keep my routine the same for the past couple of years leading into the week.”
After long-time punter Jon Ryan was released by the Seahawks earlier this month, the team have traded up for Michael Dickson, who impressed them enough to pick him up in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL draft earlier this year. Having signed a four-year, $3.6 million contract, Dickson’s talent is clearly exciting the Seahawks.
“I’ve been blown away since I’ve got here by the amount of professionals and how positive the environment is and the workplace is,” Dickson noted to Gerard Whateley.
“You don’t see a lot of brotherhood like this in professional sport, compared to college football.”
Following a stunning preseason, Michael Dickson is set to take to the field for the first time against the Denver Broncos on September 9th.
Most NFL commentators have praised Dickson for his “insane and unique” punting style, which most Australian viewers will note is clearly a holdover from his AFL days.
Needless to say, Dickson’s strong base of Aussie supporters will undoubtedly be staying up quite late to watch this talented punter make history next month.
Check out more coverage of Michael Dickson’s draft:
