Bendigo's Sam Irwin-Hill continues to dazzle the Arkansas Razorbacks and the American College Football scene with his bag of tricks.
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Irwin-Hill is playing his debut season in American College Football as a punter and has created plenty of interest with his ability to kick the ball left or right foot.
Irwin-Hill even turned stand-in quarterback against Rutgers on Saturday to pull of a fake punt on fourth down to keep a crucial Arkansas Razorbacks drive alive.
Irwin-Hill set up in his normal punting position but on taking the ball faked to his right before throwing the ball up field to Alan D’Appollonio for a 24-yard gain and first down when traditionally Arkansas would have been handing over possession.
Kicker Zach Hocker capped off the drive with a 41-yard field goal to give Arkansas a 3-0 lead.
Irwin-Hill had seven punts for the game with ESPN commentators continuing to sing his praises for being able to kick both feet and use the ''rugby style'' kick instead of the traditional American spiral punt.
When Irwin-Hill ran to his left with five minutes left in the second quarter and snapped a punt back into centre field with what we would call an 'Aussie Rules' not a 'rugby style' snap, the commentators described the move as ''pretty cool''.
Irwin-Hill did shank one punt which left his defence out of position and allowed Rutgers' Janarion Grant to return the ball for a touchdown.
But Irwin-Hill's next punt after such a drastic mistake was a true reflection of his character and growing ability in the American game.
Irwin-Hill punted and stopped the ball dead inside the Rutgers' five-yard line to draw more praise from a commentator with ''you can't do any better than that''.
The day did end in disappointment for Irwin-Hill and the Razorbacks with Rutgers coming back from 24-7 behind to win a thrilling game 28-24.
It was another big day of learning for Irwin-Hill as he continues to forge a reputation in American College Football.
Sporting website 247Sportst.com ranked Irwin-Hill as the No. 1 junior college punter in America last year.
Arkansasrazorbacks.com reports Irwin-Hill was named a first-team All-American as a sophomore after punting 44 times for an average of 41.7 yards per punt, including a long of 77 yards.
He also attracted plenty of attention by dropping 15 punts inside the 20-yard line while helping City College advance to the California Community College Athletic Association championship game and finish the season 10-2.
Read more Bendigo Advertiser coverage of Sam Irwin-Hill below...
