Cal Football: Punter Jamieson Sheahan Adds to Family Legacy by Wearing No. 17
There have been some famous athletes to wear uniform No. 17. Boston Celtics legend John Havlicek was No. 17. Chris Mullin of the Warriors wore it. So did baseball’s Todd Helton and Keith Hernandez, football’s “Dandy Don” Meredith and Doug Williams and hockey’s Jari Kurri.
Among current athletes, Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani and Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams sport No. 17.
For Cal punter Jamieson Sheahan, who has switched from No. 37 the past two seasons to No. 17, the number has special meaning.
“This is a family number,” Sheahan, the Bears’ 25-year-old punter from Bendigo, Australia, says in the video at the top of this story. “I’m born on the 17th. My dad’s born on the 17th. My brother also on the 17th. And then we lived as house No. 17 growing up.”
It took two seasons in Berkeley before Sheahan scored his favorite number. The OK came this summer from coach Justin Wilcox.
“I was pushing coach Wilcox for it. He said, `You’ve got to earn your stripes.’ It took me a few years to get it, but it’s nice to be in the family number now,” Sheahan said.
“I don’t think the parents know about it, so if they’re going to watch this video they’ll now find out. Excited to finish my career at Cal . . . wearing the No. 17.”
The 2022 season is off to an exciting start for Sheahan, who recently was named to the preseason watch list for the Ray Guy Award, given to the nation’s top punter.
“It’s nice to be on the watch list — nice recognition. But obviously only the start of what has to happen this year,” said Sheahan, whose 43.1-yard punting average last season was fourth-best in program history.
Ray Guy
Photo by Manny Rubio
Sheahan is familiar with Guy, whom the Raiders made the first pure punter chosen in the first round of the NFL draft. Guy went on to earn All-Pro recognition eight times and is a member of both the college and pro football halls of fame.
In 2019, while training at Prokick Australia, Sheahan traveled to the United States and attended several kicking camps, including one hosted by Guy.
“He’s got extremely great leg swing. I think it’s iconic how high he gets that leg,” Sheahan said. “It was just awesome to meet him and talk to him. Pretty special punter.”
Sheahan talks in the video above about his goals this season, which include perfecting his NFL-style spiral punt. He came to Cal most familiar with the Australia-style rugby rollout, back-spin rollout punt.
“Working that consistency with the spiral is really important. Especially for the distance and if you want to go to the next level you have to be pretty good at hitting the pro-style spiral,” he said.
Sheahan said the arrival of freshman punter Ethan Baxter from Australia will be a great benefit. “He’s going to be an awesome kicker here.”
Besides punting, Sheahan also will continue to serve as holder for field goals and PATs. The Bears are experienced at all three placekicking positions, with kicker Dario Longhetto and long snapper Slater Zellers.
Zellers, a senior from Scottsdale, handles snaps for both punting and placekicking. He was named to the watch list for the Patrick Mannelly Long Snapper Award.
Sheahan talks about Zellers in the video below.
Cover photo of Cal punter Jamieson Sheahan by Stan Szeto, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
