Mack Brown doesn't think freshman Australian punter Tom Maginness fully understands football yet

North Carolina punter and Australian native Tom Maginness played in his first game this past Saturday against Miami.

Yes, it was the first game of his Tar Heels career. But it was also the first football game he has ever played in his life.

Head coach Mack Brown talked with Andy Staples for Monday’s episode of Staples podcast. Staples was curious if Maginness, who hadn’t stepped foot in the United States prior to this year, understands what is happening on the field when he is not punting.

“I don’t think so,” Brown said. “I don’t even think he was a football fan. He’s a 22-year-old freshman. But when he told me he ordered this uniform because he didn’t know we gave him one. He’d never been to the United States. He’d never been on our campus when we signed him. So he shows up and the poor soul’s going around and he’s trying to learn. He said we eat a lot more food over here. All the guys were sitting around saying, ‘what are the animals like in Australia? What do y’aII eat? What’s your music like?; It’s been a lot of fun to to welcome Tom, and to his credit, walking out there on an ABC national game, packed house, and he didn’t even blink. He punted really well.”

The Australian punted six times versus the Hurricanes for 230 yards. Two of the punts landed inside the 20.

Maginness got an opportunity to play following the injury to starting punter Ben Kiernan. Kiernan injured his knee the prior week against Syracuse and is out for the year.

Brown said overcoming injuries and adversity has become a theme for the team this year. Maginness is just the latest example of it.

“One of the themes for our team this year,” Brown said. “We’ve got a young guy Tylee Craft, that’s got Stage 4 cancer and he’s been fighting it for a year and a half. We’ve got a chaplain that’s got a very rare nerve disease. He was perfect two years ago and he’s really struggling now. Then you see a receiver get hurt last week and he’s just running — Kobe Paysour — he plants his foot and he breaks his foot and here he is. He didn’t have any contact where he had a great game the week before. Our punter gets a block punt, picks it up, runs for a first down, hurts his knee. Our kicker says he hurt his groin kicking off. What we’ve said is this is a year that we can learn a lot of lessons about life because we can’t control what happens to us but we can control how we respond.

“So, ‘Tom, be ready man, you got to step up.’ The message is for all of us, and whether it’s in life or in football, you’re gonna get an opportunity at some point, and you better be ready for it because you may not get two. These young guys have stepped up. Our kicker hasn’t missed a kick and Tom punted really well on Saturday night,. The first game he’s ever played in his life. It’s been very unique.”