congrats to this kid, met him in sydney in Jan… what a great opportunity for him
July 31, 2007 SYDNEY’S Nathan D’Cunha is being touted as potentially Australia’s next big thing in American football after landing a scholarship with Big 12 college Baylor University.
D’Cunha, 23, who stands at 199cm and weighs 140kgs, has only played the game for four years and was in such high demand from US colleges that he knocked back offers from Kansas State, San Diego State, Tulsa, Nevada, and Iowa State.
The offensive lineman has taken the advice of national coach Paul Manera to try his hand at terrorising college quarter-backs after playing under him on Australia’s team at the World Games in Germany two years ago.
“After coaching him over there and watching him perform against some of the guys from the other countries who had NFL (National Football League) Europe experience I said to Nathan I think you should pursue football in America,” said Manera, a former University of Hawaii football scholarship holder.
“The first thing that caught my eye when I saw him was the way he ran.”
Not only is D’Cunha a hulk of man who bench presses 180kg, he’s been clocked at 5.1sec seconds over 40 yards.
The former West Sydney Pirates player linked with Santa Barbara Junior College in 2006, where he pressed his claims for a division one scholarship.
Texas-based Baylor competes in the Big 12 conference which has other leading college teams including the Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma Sooners and Nebraska Cornhuskers.
“They are an exceptional school, they play in a very strong conference that gets a lot of national television exposure,” Manera said.
“It’s a big opportunity for Nathan.”
Baylor begins a two week camp this weekend as part of their build-up for the new season and D’Cunha is out to make a good early impression.
“Starting is obviously my goal, but I just want to contribute to the team by putting forth as much effort as I can,” D’Cunha told the Watoc Times Tribune.
With the exception of Colin Scotts, a defensive lineman for the Phoenix Cardinals in the 1980s, Australians to play in the top professional ranks of the NFL since have been kickers and punters and Manera says it’s great to see a local player going over there to do something other than kick the ball.
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s good for those guys to play in the NFL, but it’s great that we get guys who actually play on the offensive line and defensive line,” Manera said.
Manera is confident that D’Cunha has the talent to catch the eye of NFL scouts if given the opportunity.
“Because of his size and skill I think he has a legitimate shot at getting noticed,”
Manera said.