Notre Dame football special teams look to Australian punter James Rendell

While the Notre Dame football team seems pretty locked down at basically every position, there’s one spot that is a definite wildcard. The Fighing Irish special teams has gone through quite a few shakeups over the last few years. This year, it looks like they’ll be trying out a new punter.

While James Rendell isn’t a shoo-in to be the starting punter for the Irish this season, he might be the best option. That’s how little choice Marcus Freeman has heading into the 2024 season thanks to the departure of its starting punter from 2023.

Notre Dame football’s punter had a long journey to South Bend

When Rendell, an Australian punter who committed to Notre Dame football in early May, left his home in Melbourne, Victoria, to finally make an official visit to South Bend that preceded his June enrollment, it took him roughly 33 hours to arrive on campus. 

That’s a heck of a long journey considering that he’s only got one year to play for the Fighting Irish.

“So as it stands, I’ve currently got one year,” Rendell said during a press conference on Thursday. “However, I’ve been pursuing a college football career for quite some time now, and I was ultimately prevented from coming over in prior seasons due to unprecedented circumstances that were out of my control. So henceforth, I’ve got grounds for eligibility waivers. But for now, I’m just focused on the present and the season at hand.”

That means than Rendell, at least for now, how one season to show that he can adapt to American football and become a punter that a team destined for the college football playoffs can lean on.

That’s a tall order. However, Rendell is up to the task. Special teams coordinator Marty Biagi was tasked with finding him and making sure he’s up to the job. We’ll see just how much they trust Rendell once the Notre Dame football fall camp starts next month.