Punters are people too. People forget that. Specialists have a knack for being overlooked in the sport of football. After all, most are fourth down quarterbacks who use their legs instead of their arms. Why should we be in up in arms on who Kentucky will find to replace prior specialists?
During the Mark Stoops era, Kentucky football fans got to experience the best and worst special teams play possible. Austin MacGinnis made multiple game-winning field goals as the school’s all-time leading scorer. Max Duffy won the Ray Guy Award in 2019 as the best punter in college football. In 2022, Kentucky nearly lost multiple football games because the Cats couldn’t snap the football.
Special teams play doesn’t matter, until it does. The best specialists are the ones are the unknown ones, the guys who just do their job and play mistake-free football. Well, we’re gonna give you a couple of names tonight.
Grayson Curtis is a long snapper who played for New Mexico State last fall. The Michigan native previously spent three years at Central Michigan. He visited Kentucky and could be the Cats’ next specialist.
The man he could be snapping the ball to is Tom O’Hara. KSR’s Matt Jones shared that he expects Kentucky to add the Murray State punter.
If you wanted to see the Wildcats bring back Australian-style punting, this is great news. Duffy previously worked at Murray State before returning home, where he trains Australian football players to play American football. O’Hara came from ProKick Australia, the same program that sent Max to Kentucky.
O’Hara averaged 44.9 yards per punt in 2024, the third-best in the Missouri Valley. Last fall, he averaged 43.8 yards per punt and booted a career-long 71-yarder.
The punter is not the most glamorous position, but Big Blue Nation will be excited to see an Aussie dropping bombs once again at Kroger Field.