Two Irish kickers are aiming to make their mark in American football next season, following in the footsteps of Wicklow punter Dan Whelan, who became the first Irish-born player to feature in the NFL in almost 40 years when he lined out for the Green Bay Packers last season.
Jude McAtamney, a 24-year-old former Gaelic footballer from Co Derry, and Andy Quinn, a 19-year-old former rugby player from Co Galway, are both attempting to take giant strides in their blossoming American football careers in the upcoming season.
McAtamney, who helped Derry to a U20 Ulster Football Championship in 2018, has signed for the New York Giants as a placekicker after an impressive season at Rutgers University.
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Quinn, meanwhile, who has just completed his Leaving Certificate, is currently touring US colleges after becoming the first Irish player to take part in the NFL Academy at Loughborough College in the UK.
Andy Quinn 🇮🇪👊 pic.twitter.com/gn588RaFZw
— NFL Academy (@NFLAcademy) March 29, 2024
Both players have shown enormous potential, with McAtamney impressing throughout the season for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and Quinn impressing during his spell at Loughborough University.
For McAtamney, selection by the New York Giants earlier in the year is the culmination of four years of hard work and training.
The former Derry player said he had a "light bulb moment" after encountering Georgia Tech punter and Kerry native David Shanahan in May 2020.
After a year of training and repurposing the kicking skills he had learned through the GAA for American football, McAtamney received a scholarship for Chowan University, a Division 2 school in North Carolina.
"When people found out at home that I was going away, they thought I was mad because I just came off a decent enough year with Derry under 20s," McAtamney said.
"It was my last year (as an under-20) and I was hoping to maybe get onto the senior squad after that. Then I left to go after kicking, and everyone's like, 'What the f*ck's this guy doing'."
McAtamney was traded to Rutgers in 2022 and later impressed on his Pro Day, the most common source of player recruitment in the NFL, where he caught the attention of the New York Giants.
He is now preparing for training camp ahead of the upcoming 2024/25 NFL season and hopes to lay down a marker to put himself in with a chance of making game-day rosters.
However, he recognized that he is competing with "elite" placekicker Graham Gano and said he will have to be prepared to take any chances that come his way.
"He's been elite his whole career, so I think the Giants will be counting on him to do his thing," McAtamney said. "If the opportunity comes up, it's up to me to take it."
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For Quinn, meanwhile, the journey is just beginning.
The Galway native had no background in American football before being invited to take part in Ireland's Kicking King competition at the 2022 Aer Lingus Classic between Northwestern and Nebraska.
Organized by kicking coach Tadhg Leader, the competition aimed to unearth Ireland's best NFL placekicker, pitting the very best of rugby and GAA kickers against one another.
Quinn emerged victorious on that August evening in 2022 and his performance was so impressive that it eventually earned him a place in the NFL Academy.
Quinn said he was invited to take part in the challenge after filming a short video of him attempting field goals and added that his journey has "spiraled" ever since.
"It's just spiraled from there (the kicking contest)," Quinn said. "First I went to the NFL academy and now I'm out in America on the cusp of getting a scholarship."
Quinn moved to Loughborough University for his final year of sixth year and had to sit the Leaving Certificate as an external candidate, meaning he had to devote his evenings to learning the Irish curriculum after spending the day practices with the NFL Academy.
"I was sort of teaching myself my curriculum for the Leaving Cert, which has been a very interesting way of finishing off secondary school," Quinn said.
"There were ups and downs, but the experience as a whole was unbelievable.
The Leaving Cert isn't really made for external candidates, so a lot of, there were a lot of challenges on the way, but I'm delighted to have done it the way I have because I have an interesting story now."
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For both McAtamney and Quinn, the transition from GAA and rugby has been a significant one, particularly adapting the psychological aspect of American football.
Although both are accustomed to kicking the ball accurately over long distances due to their backgrounds, both have had to adjust to playing a bit-part role in an American football game.
McAtamney said he has carried the "nuts and bolts" of kicking over from Gaelic football but said he has had to learn the mental side of playing American football. The Derry kicker emphasized the importance of being mentally sharp on game day, stating that American football games are "98 percent mental" as a placekicker.
"I do my warm-up and I might not get a kick again on the field for another two hours," McAtamney said. "And when you get that chance to kick again in two hours time, you have to take it. There's no do-over."
Quinn, who worked with sports psychologists during his time at the NFL Academy, said he has had to learn about switching on during the right moments of an American football game.
Both McAtamney and Quinn believe that more Irish players will follow in their footsteps and transition to American football.
McAtamney was assigned to the Giants' exempt/international roster spot because he is an international player and the Derry native believes that the international exemption will open the door for more Irish players in the future.
He also believes that the International Player Pathway, which saw Down goalkeeper Charlie Smith sign with the New Orleans Saints earlier in the year, will provide more opportunities for Irish NFL hopefuls.
Quinn, meanwhile, noted that more Irish players have joined the NFL Academy since he became the first Irish attendee last year. The Galway native believes that it is only a matter of time before Irish players in other specialist positions catch the eye.
Quinn believes that Ireland's rugby heritage could pave the way for an Irish offensive lineman or tight end in the future.
"I definitely see the sport growing (in Ireland), especially in specialist positions. I wouldn't be surprised to see an O lineman or a tight end move over from Ireland to attend the Academy."
"American football is a lot about switching on and switching off," he said. "You have to be able to be 100 percent aware for the 15 seconds you're on the field, and then you might not be on the field for another 20 or 25 minutes.
"Rugby is more of a marathon, whereas American Football is like a sprint, especially as a kicker."
He said he has had to teach himself to focus on his own tasks and responsibilities as a kicker, stating that he spent his first few American football games attempting to concentrate for the whole game and ended up being mentally exhausted for the moments that mattered.
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