College Football just delivered a timely trailer to one of sport’s most unique, intense and pyro-packed stages as rivalry week prompted brawls and brilliance in abundance. It is an experience like no other.
A dramatic weekend would arrive on the eve of the NFL Academy’s Andy Quinn becoming the latest addition to a wave of Irish kicking talent chasing the NFL dream after committing his collegiate future to Boston College on Wednesday. That experience will soon be his.
“I can’t wait for the game day atmosphere. College football is really special, it’s not even replicated really in the NFL,” Quinn tells Sky Sports NFL.
“Everybody is so loyal to their college and the opportunity to play the teams that we’re playing next year, if I get chosen to play it would be incredible. We’re playing Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Boston, that’s just gonna be a crazy game like the the whole stadium’s gonna be sold out.
“We’re playing Clemson at home, Georgia Tech and Syracuse, Stanford. When you see the list of places that I’m going to be travelling to, and also getting to play against, it’s really exciting.”
Having grown up playing rugby, Quinn’s footballing journey began at half-time of the 2022 Aer Lingus College Football classic between Northwestern and Nebraska at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, where he was crowned Ireland’s Kicking King after winning a field goal competition.
He had secured his place among the final three from an initial group of 180 participants, before nailing two 45-yard field goals in front of 43,000 fans. Talk about the perfect audition for handling pressure environments.
“Coach Hagen (NFL Academy head coach Steve Hagen) and Khris Durham (Head of Football) sort of saw this 16-year-old who kicked in front of 43,000 and said ‘we need to get him off to the NFL Academy’ and that’s that’s how my football career started.
“I ended up being crowned Ireland’s Kicking King and winning a flight to Chicago. And to be honest, I thought all the good fortune would stop with the flights to Chicago, but it didn’t. I kept going towards the NFL Academy.”
“I think it’s still sort of sinking in how much that moment has sort of changed my life, I was lucky there was a camera crew there and and documented the whole experience.”
Quinn went on to attend Kohl’s Kicking Academy in Philadelphia followed by a camp in Tennessee this July before being ranked the fourth-best punter prospect in the US as well as the 12th best kicker.
“It was really that late (that I realised college football was a possibility), and then I got my offer from Boston College in September, went on my official visit and committed at my official visit.
“It all worked out really well and in a short period of time, because in April I was fully studying for my Leaving Cert and ready to go to college in Dublin. I didn’t think going to America was possible back in April.”
NFL Academy product Peter Clarke, now of Temple University, previously spoke of the generous treatment he had received during college visits as programmes laid out the red carpet in a bid to secure prospects’ services.
It was no different for Quinn as Boston College representatives whisked him and his family around town in view of tying down their next kicking star.
“They flew me, my mum and my dad out to Boston from Dublin and we were met by the coaches at the airport and brought straight to lunch – it’s a lot of feeding!” Quinn added.
“I had caviar for the first time when I was over there, it’s crazy. The coaches are trying to show you the nice places in Boston, it’s also a nice experience for them so they bring you to their favourite restaurants and you get to talk to people who will be really important over your next four years of college.
“I got to meet head coach Bill O’Brien as soon as I walked into the facility. They really look after you and the hotel we were staying at was unbelievable, they leave you lots of stuff on the bed – like letters from coaches etc. It was a really cool experience that you will never experience again.
“They made Boston feel like home.”
Boston has one of the largest Irish populations in the United States, only adding to Quinn’s immediate feeling of being at home.
“The amount of Irish connections there, that’s really sort of nice to have when you’re away from home,” said Quinn. “It’s sort of like a home away from home.
“It’s only a six-hour flight to Ireland, that’s obviously not the only reason how they recruited me, but it was a massive benefit as well.”
Quinn has already spent time working alongside Irish kicker Charlie Smyth, who currently occupies a spot on the New Orleans Saints practice after leaving gaelic football to join the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program earlier this year.
Derry man Jude McAtamney also plays for the New York Giants as another IPP product, while Dan Whelan of Enniskerry, County Wicklow is on the Green Bay Packers roster amid the increasing emergence of Irish talent pursuing a path to the NFL.
“I’ve trained with Charlie a good few times when he was getting ready for the IPP and he was learning the game at the same time so we are sort of learning off each other quite well. Then two weeks ago I got to meet McAtamney.
“They gave me some good nuggets of advice and information. The one thing I really took is sort of the steadiness and calmness Jude has, and the demeanour he has got, that’s sort of the key.
“Any kicker can make a 55-yard field goal, but it’s the kickers who can do it under pressure and in the moment.”
Andy Quinn warms up at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Quinn is self-admittedly “obsessive” by nature, his meticulous approach to the fine details of his craft aiding him in his fast-moving kicking journey. There is a no-stone-unturned commitment to his development he hopes will see him continue his ascent seamlessly upon arrival in Boston.
“When I was playing rugby, during COVID I used to be down at the pitch for about three or four hours and just kicking because I became obsessed,” he said.
“I was watching a documentary on Jonny Wilkinson and he was quite similar, where he became obsessive and he couldn’t leave on bad kicks and he’d be out there until it’s dark, so yeah I have an obsessive streak in me.
“But I think also when you come to games and playing games you have to sort of leave that behind a little bit as well and just be in the moment and trust yourself where you have worked so hard that you just to reach a flow state and be fluid.”
It has become an unlikely dream and venture for not only Quinn but so too his family, who are now also in the process of educating themselves on the US collegiate setup.
“They’re learning everyday, even like the American education system, they’re learning about it constantly,” says Quinn.
“They just see it as a massive opportunity to get an American education firstly and then also to play in some of the biggest stadiums in America and getting that whole like experience of being a sort of semi professional athlete or at least in a professional environment.
“Getting that experience is going to shape me for the rest of my life. So I’m really grateful for it and my family is really grateful for the opportunity that I’ve got.”
Follow the NFL Academy @nflacademy across X, Instagram, and TikTok to keep up with the latest news and announcements. While applications for the 2024-25 school year are now closed, young athletes can register their interest in applying for subsequent years here.