Sam Irwin-Hill (born 10 October 1990) is a former Australian-born American football punter. He played college football at the University of Arkansas.
| No. 2 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Punter |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | 10 October 1990 Bendigo, Australia |
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight: | 203 lb (92 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College: | Arkansas |
| Undrafted: | 2015 |
| Career history | |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Early years
editIrwin-Hill, attended high school at Bendigo, Australia, where he practiced Australian rules football. He played junior Football at Eaglehawk Football Club and also played for the Bendigo Pioneers in the TAC Cup under 18s competition. He started learning American football in an Academy called PROKICK Australia and one of his teammates was Tom Hornsey.
College career
editIrwin-Hill accepted a football scholarship from the City College of San Francisco. As a freshman, he was the team's punter, averaging 40.6 yards per punt, while helping the Rams win the CCCAA state title with a perfect 12-0 record.
Being an ambidextrous punter, he could kick with either leg. As a sophomore, he punted 44 attempts for an average of 41.7 yards per punt, including a long of 77 yards and downed 15 punts inside the 20-yard line. He helped the team advance to the CCCAA championship game, finishing the year with a 10-2 mark. He received first-team Junior college All-American honors.
He transferred to the University of Arkansas after his sophomore season in 2013. As a junior, he appeared in 12 games, averaging 44.3 yards (third in the conference) in 46 punt attempts. He led the SEC with 20 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line.[1]
As a senior, he appeared in 13 games, averaging 40.1 yards in 58 punt attempts and dropped 27 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line.[2] He rushed twice for 74 yards, including a 51-yard touchdown run against Texas A&M. He finished his collegiate career with a total of 4,365 yards on 104 punt attempts.[3]
Professional career
editDallas Cowboys
editOn 17 April, 2017, Irwin-Hill was signed as a free agent by the Dallas Cowboys, where he was tried at both placekicker and punter.[4][5] He had previously attended minicamp on a tryout basis with the Indianapolis Colts in 2015 and 2016.[6][7]
In the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game against the Arizona Cardinals, he handled both punting and kicking duties.[8] He was waived on 1 September 2017.[9]
Washington Commanders
editOn 16 March, 2018, Irwin-Hill signed with the Washington Commanders, but he was waived on 11 July.[10][11]
San Diego Fleet
editOn 26 October 2018, Irwin-Hill signed with the San Diego Fleet.[12] He suffered an injury before the start of the 2019 season and was placed on the roster exempt list on 30 January.[13] After missing the season opener due to travel visa issues, he was activated on 12 February.[14] The league ceased operations in April 2019.[15]
Atlanta Falcons
editOn October 8, 2019, Irwin-Hill was signed to the Atlanta Falcons practice squad, but was released three days later following an issue with his travel visa.[16][17]
On February 7, 2020, Irwin-Hill was signed by the Atlanta Falcons.[18] On April 25, 2020, Irwin-Hill was released by the Falcons.[19]
References
edit- ^ "Cowboys Sign Former Arkansas Punter Sam Irwin-Hill". DallasCowboys.com. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
- ^ "Cowboys Add Punter Sam Irwin-Hill". NBCSports.com. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
- ^ "Cowboys Sign P Sam Irwin-Hill". FanragSports.com. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
- ^ "Dallas Cowboys Sign Aussie Punter Sam Irwin-Hill A Day Before NFL Draft". FoxSports.com. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
- ^ Crabtree, Curtis (27 April 2017). "Cowboys add punter Sam Irwin-Hill". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ Wilson, Josh (8 May 2015). "Colts Begin Rookie Mini-Camp Today". stampedeblue.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Bowen, Kevin (9 June 2016). "Colts Wrap Up Minicamp; Next Up Training Camp In Anderson". colts.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Cardinals vs. Cowboys - Box Score - August 3, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ Phillips, Rob (2 September 2017). "Cowboys Make 38 Moves, One Trade To Reach 53; Kellen Moore Released". DallasCowboys.com.
- ^ Czarda, Stephen (16 March 2018). "Redskins Sign Punter Sam Irwin-Hill". Redskins.com.
- ^ "Redskins Select Adonis Alexander In Sixth Round Of Supplemental Draft, Waive Sam Irwin-Hill". Redskins.com. 11 July 2018.
- ^ Nguyen, Alexander (26 October 2018). "San Diego Fleet Signs Two More Former Aztecs". Times of San Diego. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
- ^ Goldberg, Jeff (30 January 2019). "'It's Go time': Roster in place, Fleet excited for season debut". Alliance of American Football.
- ^ Nguyen, Alexander (12 February 2019). "San Diego Fleet Activate Australian Punter Ahead of Saturday's Home Opener". Times of San Diego. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ Rothstein, Michael; Wickersham, Seth (13 June 2019). "Inside the short, unhappy life of the Alliance of American Football". ESPN.com. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ^ McFadden, Will (8 October 2019). "Falcons place Johnathan Cyprien on IR, sign Eagles cornerback". AtlantaFalcons.com.
- ^ "Falcons add P Kasey Redfern, who will assume punting duties against Cardinals". The Falcoholic. SB Nation. 11 October 2019.
- ^ McFadden, Will (7 February 2020). "Falcons agree to terms with punter Sam Irwin-Hill". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ McFadden, Will (25 April 2020). "2020 NFL Draft: Atlanta Falcons select Sterling Hofrichter in seventh round". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved 27 April 2020.