How Texas landed a commitment from the Australian cousin of punter Michael Dickson

AUSTIN – One of the most unusual aspects of this early signing period, Texas coach Tom Herman explained, was the inability to meet with every single recruit before they signed with the program.

"I think I counted seven or eight of our 16 guys that we've signed, I have yet to be in their homes or at their high school," Herman said Wednesday afternoon. "That's crazy to me. I mean, absolutely crazy."

Certainly, Herman did not have enough spare time to embark on a 20-plus hour flight from Austin to Sydney, Australia to shake hands with punter Ryan Bujcevski. But Texas signed him anyway based on recommendations and evaluations from Prokick Australia, a kicking school based in Melbourne.

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Alumni include Jordan Berry (Eastern Kentucky/Pittsburgh Steelers), 2013 Ray Guy award winner Tom Hornsey (Memphis/Dallas Cowboys practice squad), and two-time Ray Guy winner Tom Hackett (Utah/New York Jets). Texas punter and 2017 Ray Guy award winner Michael Dickson is also a proud Prokick graduate, and he just so happens to be a cousin of Bujcevski.

"I've had a long relationship with those guys down at Pro Kick," Herman said. "It goes everywhere from Cameron Johnston, was on the Ohio State team that I was a part of, to Dane Roy at Houston, to now our punter currently here. When those guys say, hey, this guy's the next whatever, you believe them because they're that good at their job.

"Obviously, we're not going to take a kid to a full scholarship sight unseen. We watched the video. We poured over it, and we analyzed it. To say that any of us are anywhere close to being the punting gurus that those guys at Pro Kick Australia are, that's false. A lot of it is our trust in them and the different kids that we've seen that have come from their program and the success that they've had here in the states."

Dickson is still weighing whether to forego his remaining college eligibility and turn pro following the Texas Bowl. But at least now Texas has a contingency plan in place should Dickson decide to take that dangerous leg to the NFL.

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