Notre Dame Punter James Rendell Brings Tremendous Upside To The Roster

Prokick Australia coach Mackenzie Morgan goes in-depth on Notre Dame commit James Rendell

Notre Dame commit James Rendell / James Rendell

Notre Dame received big, and surprising news on Wednesday night when Australian punter James Rendell committed to Notre Dame. The 6-6, 225-pound specialist is slated to enroll later this month and join the team for the 2024 season.

Evaluating specialists isn’t easy, which is why guys like Marty Biagi are paid the big bucks. Rendell has been training with Prokick Australia for a while now, who specializes in developing great punters for the college and NFL level. Names like Mitch Wishnowsky, Michael Dickson, Arryn Siposs and Cameron Johnston might be familiar to fans who follow the NFL closely.

A part of the Prokick program, the organization also has coaches who went through the training themselves and went on to star in the states. One of those coaches is former collegiate punter Mackenzie Morgan, who spent time with NC State, Weber State and Temple before transitioning into coaching.

Over the last 18 months, Morgan has gotten the chance to work with some great specialists as a part of Prokick. Rendell stands right near the top of talents that he’s seen come through the program.

"Prokick has a great reputation,” Morgan told Irish Breakdown. "The track record of putting punters into the college and NFL is excellent. What Nathan Chapman and John Smith have built is incredible. I’m one of several coaches that works with Prokick as well. We have a great group who work tirelessly to help prepare the next wave of great specialists.

"When you compare James to the best punters who have come through, he’s right there with anyone,” he continued. "He has the potential to be a very, very, very good punter for Notre Dame. He’s super talented, a big guy, and consistent.”

Rendell’s on-field talents aren’t a major surprise when you consider his family background. He happens to come from a family of footballers over there. His father, the late Matt Rendell, was a very highly regarded and famous professional AFL player. Clearly the athleticism was passed on to James.

Notre Dame is also investing into a good person by all accounts. Morgan may have been high on Rendell as a talent, but he was even higher on his character as a person.

"He’s also a great dude,” Morgan stated. "James will be a tremendous part of the program. He is great to be around and get to know. Nobody will have to worry about him as a person. He’s just an excellent person.”

At the end of the conversation, Morgan even joked about another part of Rendell that will be well received by Notre Dame fans. They aren’t calling him “Thor” for no reason.

"You have a great player and person coming,” he said. "With Sam Hartman gone, you’re also adding another tall handsome man. He’ll be able to fill that void as well.”

Obviously that came lighthearted and in a joking way, but it does appear that he brings the full package to the table. Notre Dame fans were left wondering what the future at punter would look like with Bryce McFerson entering the transfer portal recently, but now they have their answer. Coach Morgan set the state. Irish fans should be very excited.

"Notre Dame has a great one,” Morgan explained. "Everyone is going to be very happy to have James a part of the program. He’s excellent.” 

Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge

———————

Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.

BECOME A MEMBER

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @RiseNDraft
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter