By Joe Frollo / USAfootball.com

Australia hopes it has a leg up over the U.S. Men’s National Team.

The two squads open the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Senior World Championships on July 8 in Innsbruck, Austria.  And while the U.S. roster will be announced soon, Team Australia includes one NFL player – Arizona Cardinals punter Ben Graham.

Graham is a Melbourne, Australia, native and was an Australian-rules football player before playing for the New York Jets (2005-08), New Orleans Saints (2008) and Cardinals (2008-10). He is currently a free agent and cannot sign with a team until NFL labor negotiations result in an agreement.

“All I’ve ever wanted to do is play,” Graham told tournament organizers. “And now I get to represent Australia in an international competition. This is an opportunity that I never dreamed would be possible.”

Graham became the first Australian to appear in a Super Bowl, playing with the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. That 2009 season, Graham also tied the NFL single-season record with 42 punts downed inside the 20-yard line and set a franchise record by averaging 47 yards per punt.

The United States and Australia are part of Group A along with Germany and Mexico. Group B includes Austria, Canada, France and Japan. A round robin schedule in group play determines who will compete for gold and bronze medals.

USA Football, the sport’s national governing body in the United States, organizes and assembles America’s national teams.

The Team USA head coach is former Northwest Missouri State University head coach Mel Tjeerdsma, who led the Bearcats to three NCAA Division II national championships (1998, 1999, 2009).

BY JEFF BERGLUND | The Exponent

Those who know Purdue kicker Carson Wiggs well might as well have yawned in reaction to his 67-yard field goal.

It was nothing special teams coordinator J.B. Gibbony hadn’t seen before.

“A 67-yard field goal for many people is a once-in-a-lifetime achievement,” he said, “but we’ve seen him make that on many occasions. For us, it wasn’t as much of a shock as it probably was for the average fan.”

The field goal, which came during Purdue’s spring scrimmage, would have tied the NCAA record for longest ever had it occurred in a regular season game. Fans have been served an appetizer of what Wiggs can do, and Gibbony expects they’ll get a full-course meal in the coming season. If Purdue’s on the 50-yard line at the end of a game, don’t necessarily expect a Hail Mary if a field goal will suffice.

“It’s a weapon every coach wishes they had,” Gibbony said. “He has a chance on any given day to set the record for the longest field goal in football history.”

Kickers often find themselves on their own island in football locker rooms. They’re not seen as real football players – more like soccer players with pads and a helmet. Wiggs, though, has gained the respect of his teammates by showing that he’s not afraid to get in the face of a lineman. He’s been appointed team captain for the coming season.

“The best part about Carson is he’s a football player who happens to be a kicker,” Gibbony said. “If we ever pick off a pass, he’s one of the first guys out there congratulating his teammates.”

Wiggs came to Purdue from Grand Prairie, Tex. He kicked and played running back and corner back for his high school football team in the fall and played soccer in the winter. His father, Jay, said when Purdue invited Wiggs to a kicking camp, there was one thing they had to first: Find the University on a map.

“We didn’t even know where Purdue was, quite frankly, when they were recruiting us,” he said.

Two days after Wiggs attended the camp, Purdue offered him a full scholarship.

Carson’s younger brother, Jordan, will be heading to Stephen F. Austin State University in Austin, Tex., to kick next year. Jay said the two often engage in a friendly competition of who can hit the farthest field goal. Carson has the stronger leg, but Jordan’s deadly accurate.

“The younger brother really looks up to Carson – always has,” Jay said. “He wants to accomplish what the big brother does.”

The one accomplishment Wiggs would like to add to his already-impressive list is a Bowl Game. He has friends who are kickers at universities around the country, his father said, and many of them have played in the Bowl Championship Series. They’ve called Wiggs after their experiences to tell him all about the free watches and TVs they’ve been given for taking part in the games while he watches from home.

“He’s been there three years and nothing,” Gibbony said. “That really grinds on him.”

Gibbony said Wiggs is optimistic about the team this year, and he believes he’ll get that bowl game in his final season at Purdue.

“He said there’s a lot of hardworking kids this year,” he said. “Apparently they got rid of the slackers.”

By Marc Pendleton / Dayton Daily News

DAYTON — Ryan Adams was easily the best player in the area at his position last football season. But unlike scores of other great players and even teammates, he wasn’t close to landing a college athletic scholarship.

No matter that he had crisscrossed the Midwest, attending every summer football camp he could find. In his estimation, he went to 30 during his high school career at Carroll.

“The only way that you’re going to get a scholarship is to kick in front of them,” Adams said. “I went all over, all summer.”

The message was the same everywhere he went: We like you, but ...

“It was up and down like a rollercoaster emotionally,” he said.

Adams was living the life of a frustrated kicker.

At 6 feet 1 inch and 195 pounds, Adams ably earned the tag “thunder foot.”

He didn’t just kick off; he rocketed unreturnable bombs – 18 of 25 – into the end zone, even into stiff wind.

Two of his five field goals last season were 52-yarders, both on grass fields. Others went for 44 and 37 yards.

His punts also whistled, good for an average of 38.7 yards.

But still, no takers. Instead, plenty of programs dangled a runner-up offer.

“I ended up No. 2 at a lot of places; Michigan, Toledo, UC,” he said.

“They would offer to another guy and they said that if he didn’t commit, then they would offer to me.”

That sounded good, then got old real fast. No program contacted him to say a scholarship was available.

That’s not unusual for kickers and punters. Like long snappers, those spots are after-thoughts compared to the other starting positions. And that’s with 65 scholarships available to Division I programs.

Carroll coaches were just as frustrated. A bulk email entitled “kicker with a big leg” was sent to scores of programs. It worked.

Southeastern Louisiana was smitten with video of Adams kicking.

“They saw it right there, called me up the next day, flew me down the following week and then just offered,” said Adams, shaking his head in near-disbelief even all these months later.

It doesn’t matter to Adams that he’ll have to travel to the Gulf of Mexico (Hammond, La.) just to play football. All he wanted was a chance, and he got it with the Southland Conference school.

Here’s what the Lions are getting: Playing for the South, Adams nailed field goals of 50 and 41 yards in Friday night’s 16-13 loss to the North in the White Allen Pigskin Classic all-star football game at Welcome Stadium.

He barely missed a 55-yarder. In practice at the stadium this week he was good from 63 and 62 yards.

Who wouldn’t want that kind of leg power? Apparently, a lot of programs.

“It’s tough,” Adams said during the Classic.

“I’m hoping that this brings a big future to me at Southeastern and hopefully maybe into the pros.”

NEW ORLEANS –  Prokicker.com Ray Guy kicking Academy's competition winners at last weekend's camp.

Here are the camp’s top prospects and the competition winners.

kicker/punter/snappers
Trent Domingue, kicker/punter, 2012
Ralphie Freibert, kicker, 2012
Dyan Ainsworth, punter, 2012
Michael Pate, long-snapper, 2012

Competition winners
Long distance field goal: C.J. Elder, 46 yards
Long distance kickoff: Ralphie Freibert, 67 yards, 3.7 hang time
Hang time punt: Dylan Ainsworth, 42 yards, 4.78 hang time
Out of bounds punt right: Cameron Willis
Out of bounds punt left: Braxton Akridge
Fastest single snap: Cody Nelson, 0.96
Most accurate snapper: Tanner Warner, 10 out of 30 points

The Ray Guy ProKicker.com kicking Academy said Pedro Ramello of Bartow High School has been named to its Top Prospect List.

Ramello, who is slated to be a 2012 BHS graduate, was one of thousands of high school athletes that attended the Ray Guy/ProKicker.com kicking Academy, which is held annually in more than 50 cities across the nation.

The Academy provides individual instruction to kicking, punting, and long snapping prospects all across the nation, while establishing itself as one of the premier sources of information for college football coaches and recruiters.

“It’s all about credibility,” said Academy Director Rick Sang. “Athletes named to this exclusive list will appreciate their accomplishment much more by knowing that they have earned it.”

Athletes named to the Top Prospect List for each camp were individually evaluated and graded on facets of kicking, punting, and long snapping such as accuracy, timing and distance. Ramello’s performances put him at the top of list among the camp’s participants. His scores and profile can be found at ProKicker.com, along with complete rankings.

Participants of the Ray Guy/ProKicker.com kicking Academy have gone on to earn college scholarships and set new standards on the collegiate and professional levels. There are 707 alum on college rosters and 18 alumni active on NFL rosters.

Some notable camp alums include NFL and NCAA record holders: Shane Lechler, NFL career punting leader and Nick Harris, current Detroit Lion and NCAA career yardage and number of punts leader.

For more information on the Ray Guy ProKicker.com, visit prokicker.com/.

Football News Now (FNN.com)

With the No. 1 offense and the No. 1 defense in the NFL last year, the reason the San Diego Chargers 9-7 season missed the playoffs was simple, special teams.

The difference in at least two games was that special teams coach Steve Crosby units were as bad as the league had seen since 1970. Out goes Crosby, in comes Rich Bisaccia from Tampa Bay. In his eight seasons on the Buccaneers sideline, Bisaccia’s special teams units consistently ranked as one of the top in the NFL. Despite the lockout, despite him installing a new system, and despite new players, Bisaccia is not lacking confidence he’ll be able to turn San Diego’s special teams around.

“Certainly, it’s a new system, with different verbiage and things of that nature, but I have all the confidence in the world we’ll get it done,” Bisaccia told the San Diego Union Tribune. “I don’t want to make light of it, but I think I have the ability to prepare them. This is about them doing the job.”

“Them” is also part of the expected turnaround as Chargers’ GM AJ Smith had an eye towards special teams in the draft selecting Jonas Mouton, Marcus Gilchrist, Jordan Todman and Andrew Gachkar. Although to Bisaccia, it all comes down to the basics of football, good players making good plays.

“The best players are going to play,” Bisaccia said. “You have to block the right guy and tackle. Tackling is tackling, and I don’t care if I’m coaching high school or Pop Warner or the Chargers. I don’t care if we have veterans or rookies. We had seven rookies in Tampa last year. You’re responsible for your work.”

Former Geelong captain Ben Graham will kit up for Australia when he represents the nation at American football in July, according to the Herald Sun.

Graham, punter for the Arizona Cardinals, will take advantage of the NFL lockout by making himself available for the International Federation of American Football world championships in Austria.

The titles will feature the best players from eight nations across four continents.

The Aussies - the Australian Outback team - will play its Group A games against defending champion U.S., Mexico and Germany.

Austria, France, Japan and Canada comprise Group B. The top two from each group advance.

Graham stunned Geelong at the end of 2004 when he said he was quitting to accept an offer to play in the NFL.

In March, the NFL announced a lockout of players by team owners after the move by the players' union to dissolve itself and pursue court action against the league.

By Mark Maynard / Prokickernews.com Editor

BRADENTON, Fla. – Learning from the best?

That’s what happens at the Prokicker.com Ray Guy kicking Academy. Last weekend at Manatee High School, during the spring’s second Prokicker.com camp, NFL punter Brandon Fields of the Miami Dolphins and kicker Graham Gano of the Washington Redskins were giving instruction to campers.

It was a chance to watch – and learn – from two of the best kickers in the NFL.

“Everybody is there to get better, to improve, especially at this camp,” said Fields, the Dolphins punter the past four seasons. “One thing (camp director) Rick (Sang) gets across to the kids is to be their own coaches. Know what they did well and what they didn’t do well and know how to correct it.”

Being a punter or kicker can be a lonely existence in high school. They are often left to solve their own mechanics, Fields said.

“A lot of our high school coaches are either volunteering or have some other type of (coaching) job they do (besides special teams),” he said. “As they grew up, they were taught a certain way. It’s not always right or helpful.”

Which, Fields says, is why camps like Prokicker.com, that provide individual instruction to each camper, is vital toward making progress as a kicker. Fields was able to interact with players one-on-one in a teaching situation that simply doesn’t have a price tag.

“Being out here with the caliber of guys that they have at this camp is unbelievable,” said camper Nick Tankersley. “I mean, it was the punter for the Dolphins and the kicker for the Redskins. It’s great to hear what they have to say about you.”

Fields, who grew up on the soccer field, showed promise as a younger kicker and punter.

“When I took it a little more seriously, I started to get recruited,” he said. “I ended up finding out about Rick (a former college player at Eastern Kentucky University) and did some private sessions with him. It helped me tremendously.”

Fields endorses the Prokicker.com camps because of their track record in helping campers obtain college scholarships through improving their skills.

“There are so many little things that can help out guys and make stuff easier,” Fields said. “It’s not rocket science but there’s not a lot of good kicking camps across the country.”

Fields said if a punter or kicker is serious about elevating his game, then the Prokicker.com camp is a good place to look.

Fields came over to the camp at Manatee High School on his own to give back to the Prokicker.com camp that helped him so much.

Besides being the punter for the Dolphins, he is also the holder on field goals and extra points. Fields, who is 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, doesn’t mind bringing down a return man if necessary.

“I average 3-4 tackles every year,” he said. “It’s not the best thing if I actually have to make a tackle. I can bring them down, I just can’t catch them.”

Fields averaged 46.2 yards per kick in 2010 and had a memorable game against the Jets when he punted 10 times for a 56.4-yard average. His punting was the difference in the Dolphins recording a 10-6 victory over the Jets in windy conditions. Despite the swirling conditions, Fields found some serious power in his right leg. Three times he launched kicks over 60 yards (69, 62 and 61), and he also added a 58-yarder, two 56-yarders and a 53-yarder). He finished with 10 punts for 564 yards, an average of 56.4 yards per kick.

“Only one other time in my career had I punted that many times,” he said. “I contributed so much to the team by changing field position.”

Fields was being modest. His strong punting leg was credited with getting the Dolphins the victory. It also earned him praise from Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano and Bill Parcells, Miami’s VP of Football Operations.

Fields has averaged 44.9 yards per punt during his three seasons with the Dolphins, who selected him in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft.

Fields punted in college for Michigan State University where he was a finalist for the Ray Guy Award – given to the nation’s top punter – after his sophomore season. He was a consensus first-team Big Ten punter for the Spartans and has proven himself NFL worthy, too.

 “I feel more confident in what I can do even than what I’ve shown,” he said. “I’m proud of my resume but, at the same time, I know every single year how many punters are graduating college and also guys from years past out of a job, looking. I’m always trying to perfect my skills, perfect my craft.”

Fields said he’s been working out with a core group of Dolphins as the NFL lockout plays out in the courts. He expects to be playing in the fall.

“There’s a group of us that have been working out together before the lockout started and we’ve been sticking to that,” he said. “I’ve been working with the long-snapper and the kicker, getting together regularly.”

Fields said they have 1.3 seconds to make the kick on field goals from the time the football is snapped.

“We’re always doing the same type of field goal work,” he said. “We do hundreds of reps. I know exactly where the ball is going. If there’s a bad one, which there rarely is, I know where my snappers misses are.”

The work ethic that Fields demonstrates was passed on to the campers last weekend. He took some snaps from Nathan Theus, the top long-snapper in the nation who signed a full scholarship with the University of Georgia in February. He was actually able to give Theus a tip that was put to good use immediately.

The next Prokicker.com camp comes up this weekend in the Charlotte, N.C., area. Go to prokicker.com to register for the camp and learn more.

By RACHEL WHITTAKER / lsureveille

It was the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 20, 2008.

The New York Giants were battling the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field for a spot in Super Bowl XLII against the undefeated New England Patriots.

The wind chill was a frigid 23 degrees below zero.

Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes had just missed a game-winning 36-yard field goal at the end of regulation.

Now-LSU special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey was on the Giants' sideline that fateful day in his first season as the New York assistant special teams coordinator, a position he held from 2007 to 2010.

The Giants won the game courtesy of special teams redemption when Tynes split the uprights with a 47-yard field goal to send the team to the Super Bowl, which it ultimately won. It was the longest field goal in Lambeau Field postseason history.

"In Lambeau Field in January, the field goal percentage is less than 40 percent," McGaughey said. "When you kicked the ball, it wasn't hanging in the air very long or going very far."

Now McGaughey, 37, is in a much warmer environment in Baton Rouge. Hired March 10, he is entrusted with the role of coaching an LSU special teams unit that lost its 2010 starting punter, Derek Helton, and kicker, Josh Jasper, along with its best returner, No. 5 overall draft pick Patrick Peterson.

McGaughey's wife, Erika, said Thomas' transition to LSU has been a whirlwind for their family. The McGaugheys have two sons, Thomas III, 17, and Trenton, 8, and one daughter, Taylor, 15.

"He was coming back from the [NFL Scouting] Combine in Indianapolis, so I hadn't seen him for a couple of days," Erika said. "When he got back home, he got a call from Les Miles asking if he wanted to come to Louisiana."

Erika said being married to a football coach brings both thrilling and emotionally taxing experiences. She and the children are still living in New Jersey until the school year ends.

"It has an effect on the family when one parent has to be gone a lot," she said. "It takes a certain type of personality as a woman because it's challenging and demanding, especially when you have children."

McGaughey, a long snapper and defensive back at the University of Houston from 1991 to 1995, said winning the Super Bowl in his first season with the Giants is at the top of his most memorable moments.

It was especially sweet after he fell short in the 2005 AFC Championship Game when he was with the Denver Broncos.

"It puts you on another stratosphere as a player and coach," McGaughey said. "Once you get that ring, you look at it and realize there aren't a whole lot of these."

McGaughey coached at his alma mater as special teams coordinator from 2003 to 2004. He also had a pro scouting internship with the Houston Texans before their inaugural season in 2002.

McGaughey's 13 years of coaching — eight in the NFL — have caused some sadness that tugs at his heart. He said the value of family is immeasurable.

"When I worked in Denver, my youngest son was 2 or 3 years old, and he said his daddy lived in the airport," McGaughey said. "Every time he saw me I was coming from the airport.

It's life-changing when you hear stuff like that. I said to my family, ‘I don't care where the next job is, but you guys are coming.'"

Miles recognized McGaughey's abilities to connect with his players. McGaughey said it was a smooth process during spring practice, which ended April 9.

"It's a great group of guys. They're all very coachable," McGaughey said. "It's a beautiful thing to tell a guy to do something, and when you look up, it's being done at the speed and tempo you like."