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True freshman Nick McLarty named starting punter for Ohio State's season opener

IMG_7408by:Andy Backstrom•08/26/24•

andybackstrom

Nick McLarty by Matt Parker -- Lettermen Row --
(Matt Parker/Lettermen Row)

Last fall, he went viral for booting a 90-yard punt out of an Australian stadium. This fall, he’s the Ohio State starting punter. That’s Nick McLarty, the 6-foot-7, 255-pound Melbourne native who joined the Buckeyes as a true freshman this summer.

“Right now, Nick is going to be the starter, and that competition will go into next week,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said last Thursday. “But right now, as we head into the weekend, he is the starter, and the plan is for him to be the first punter to go out in the game on Saturday against Akron.”

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McLarty, who played Australian rules football and trained at the Punt Factory with former NFL punters Darren Bennett and Sav Rocca, has been competing with Buffalo transfer Anthony Venneri and sophomore Joe McGuire throughout August.

Venneri had 12 punts of 50 or more yards last season, including two that traveled 60-plus yards. The Hamilton, Ontario, native pinned 17 punts inside the 20-yard line, and a total of 18 of his punts resulted in fair catches. When all was said and done last year, he clocked out with an average of 43.88 yards per punt. That mark broke his own single-season Buffalo record of 43 yards per punt that he set in 2022.

Like McLarty, McGuire is from Melbourne, but he’s a Prokick Australia product. McGuire handled punting duties in the spring game, except it’s worth noting that neither McLarty nor Venneri were with the team at the time.

Day was asked Thursday about what McLarty has showed him to earn that job.

“He’s got a strong leg,” Day said. “He’s made a good transition into the country, but also just playing football and not Australian rules football, which is very, very different.

“The snap-to-kick has really improved. You know, that was one thing — he’s a taller guy, so the ball has to get get off his foot faster. I think he’s done that. His hang time has been good, and he’s been more consistent. You’ll see, he’ll kick a few that’ll just go right out of the stadium. He’s just got a a strong, strong leg. So we’re looking for that consistency. He’s shown that here most recently. So he’s got the upper hand right now.”

After starting three seasons for the Buckeyes, Jesse Mirco — who hails from Fremantle, Australia — transferred to Vanderbilt this offseason. That left a void, and at least one big shoe, to be filled on special teams, a phase of the game Ohio State is trying to revamp this year.

Enter, Nick McLarty, who will open the season as the Buckeyes’ starting punter.

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