Nick Saban jokes Aussie punter more comfortable playing rugby

It has become a trend for punters to be imported into the college football world from Australia, and now Alabama is joining the trend. Australian born James Burnip joined the Crimson Tide this offseason after a successful rugby career. He is a product of ProKick Australia, which helped produce Ohio State’s Cameron Johnston, Arkansas’ Cam Irwin-Hill and LSU’s Jamie Keehn.

Nick Saban has been complimentary of the Aussie since he joined the team this summer, making sure to let people know he is more than a rugby player. Despite never playing football before, he has plenty of experience kicking an American football.

“He has punted a football before, alright,” Saban told reporters after last week’s scrimmage. “So he didn’t come from the rugby field, from the rugby ball to the football. He’s been punting footballs for quite a long time. And really, we’re not asking him to play football. We’re asking him to punt it.”

After weeks of defending his punter, the veteran coach saw an opportunity to have fun.

When a reporter asked about the variety of kicking techniques James Burnip brings, Nick Saban had a quick response.

“Well, we basically have him going over with the rugby team every day so he can play rugby and feel more comfortable doing that, since we’re so worried about him playing football,” Saban said with a straight face. “He’s doing really well with the rugby part of it, so we’ll see how that goes.”

The University of Alabama does not offer rugby as a varsity sport but does feature a club team. The club practices three times per week with games on Fridays and Saturdays.

“I have to go to rugby practice after this,” Saban joked at the end of the press conference.

More analysis on James Burnip

James Burnip is part of Alabama’s punting competition this summer. His top competition for the starting position is Troy transfer Jack Martin. Other punters looking to play their way into the starting job including Sam Johnson and Ty Perine.

“We have competition at the position,” Saban told reporters after last week’s scrimmage. “Both guys did a pretty good job. We’ll just see who comes out on top.”

After initially joking about James Burnip on Wednesday, Nick Saban eventually circled back to provide a more serious answer, complimenting the Aussie punter’s progress.

“But he’s made a lot of improvement and a lot of progress in terms of feeling comfortable and he does have a variety of ways that he can punt the ball,” said Saban. “He’s pretty effective at it.”