SOUTH BEND — Jasper Scaife, freshman punter for Notre Dame football, has provided the early soundtrack of this fall training camp with his thunderous boots.
Just as impressive, however, is the supple silence the Australian's strong hands have produced. So quiet are they when receiving the football from long snapper Joseph Vinci that Scaife, of all people, has emerged as the first-string holder on placement kicks.
"He is a stone-cold competitor," said Marty Biagi, Notre Dame's special teams coordinator and a former kicking specialist himself. "Even when recruiting him, it was like, 'Hey, if I come here, it's all business. I have intention.'"
Scaife, who turns 22 in late September, also shows the sort of advanced attention to detail that kicking coaches love. While playing as a so-called key forward in the Australian and Victorian football leagues back home, the West Perth product handled more than his share of bad hops and wind-blown Sherrins.
"When I was recruiting him, I was watching some of his AFL film, and you can see the intent and the focus," Biagi said. "He is an extremely hard worker, but you can tell he has spent a lot of time or been trained up on the mental aspect of performance."
#scaife #south
Just as impressive, however, is the supple silence the Australian's strong hands have produced. So quiet are they when receiving the football from long snapper Joseph Vinci that Scaife, of all people, has emerged as the first-string holder on placement kicks.
"He is a stone-cold competitor," said Marty Biagi, Notre Dame's special teams coordinator and a former kicking specialist himself. "Even when recruiting him, it was like, 'Hey, if I come here, it's all business. I have intention.'"
Scaife, who turns 22 in late September, also shows the sort of advanced attention to detail that kicking coaches love. While playing as a so-called key forward in the Australian and Victorian football leagues back home, the West Perth product handled more than his share of bad hops and wind-blown Sherrins.
"When I was recruiting him, I was watching some of his AFL film, and you can see the intent and the focus," Biagi said. "He is an extremely hard worker, but you can tell he has spent a lot of time or been trained up on the mental aspect of performance."
#scaife #south
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