From Dublin to Massachusetts, Dylan Rushe is hoping that his budding American football career continues in a similar trajectory so he can reach the NFL.
Rushe is the field-kicker for Endicott College and has been having one hell of a season. He has nailed 13 from 15 kicks, including a longest kick of 54 metres and the future is looking very bright indeed.
How he ended up in the States was down to a combination of luck and initiative and he hasn’t looked back since.
“We were looking for a kicker, and we got an online video from him, and we thought, ‘geez, he’s pretty good,’ ’’ his coach JB Wells told The Boston Globe. “We sent out an exploratory e-mail, and he responded.”
“The joke is, it was the geographical spot between California and Dublin.”
Rushe was initially hoping to pursue soccer in college, but a back injury ruled that out and he decided to explore other options. One of those was American football and he hasn’t looked back since.
Pic credit: The Boston Globe
The Dubliner, who is studying finance, took to the sport immediately after enrolling in Endicott College, and in his freshman year he made a pretty decent start. He only failed to land five of his 19 kicks, and looks more than confident from long distance.
“When you don’t have to think about the kicker, you know that you have a great one,” said Wells, who is confident his guy will be in an NFL camp next summer.
And he is not just a one-trick pony. While he has enjoyed a 70 per cent record with field goals over the past four seasons, he has other statistics that back up his billing. The 6-foot, 185-pound Rushe is averaging 58.5 yards on his kickoffs, with 10 touchbacks. As a punter, he has no peer, averaging 41.4 yards on 34 kicks, landing 14 inside the 20-yard line.
It’s little wonder Wells describes the Irishman as a “magician with the ball”.
FB: Dylan Rushe Collects Third NEFC Special Teams Award This Season #GoGulls #d3fb http://t.co/C6BqfNx5Kn
— Endicott Athletics (@ECGulls) November 10, 2013
The last Irish-born player to play in the NFL was Dubliner Cornelius O’Donoghue, who set a then record for the Arizona Cardinals in 1984 with the most points scored in a season with 117. Cornelius played minor football for Dublin before a soccer scholarship took him to Alabama and the rest, as they say, was history.
We hope that Dylan can emulate the achievements of Cornelius and we wish him all the best Stateside.
