Ohio State's 2016 senior class has a chance to win its second national championship in three years with two more victories this season. Before kickoff against Clemson in the College Football Playoff, Eleven Warriors will take a brief look back at each player's time in Columbus.
WHERE JOHNSTON'S FROM
Ohio State entered National Signing Day 2013 with its punter of the future in hand: Johnny Townsend, the No. 2 punter of the class, from Orlando, Florida.
But Towsend's Letter of Intent never came through the fax machine at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. After canceling a previous scheduled ceremony at Boone High School, Townsend faxed his letter to Will Muschamp and the Florida Gators.
The switch left the Buckeyes in a predicament, as described in Eleven Warriors' Feb. 7th article:
Being that Townsend was expected to start at punter next season for OSU, the Bucks will now have to look for other options to replace Ben Buchanan. Current roster members that are speculated to be considered include K Drew Basil, WR Frank Epitropoulos, and walk-ons P Kevin Niehoff and K/P Jake Russell.
Given that most punters on Ohio State's caliber were already locked up, Kerry Coombs found an unorthodox solution.
Unbeknownst to Buckeye fans at the time, that answer laid 9,917 miles away in Geelong, Australia. His name was Cam Johnston, an Aussie rules punter who had never played football or been to America.
The 20-year-old Prokick Australia student leapt at the chance.
TOP MOMENTS
Ohio State opened camp with Johnston and wide receiver Frank Epitropoulos taking long snaps, the Australian's live leg quickly claimed the spot.
“He is our No. 1 guy,” Meyer said. “The first day was ridiculous…a one-shot wonder. The second day he was okay and the third day he was okay. But he’s got a live leg and he’s a tremendous kid.”
Johnston never looked back. He finished the 2013 season a College Football News second-team freshman All-American after leading all Big Ten punters with a 44-yard average punt and leading the nation with 69% of punts downed inside the 20.
Cardale Jones, Cameron Johnston, and Dontre Wilson celebrate a 40-30 win over Northwestern in 2013.
The Australian finished 2014 as a national champion and Ray Guy finalist. He once again led the Big Ten with 45-yards per punt. He would've finished top-10 nationally but didn't punt enough times per game to satisfy the NCAA's statistical threshold (3.6 per game).
His junior season culminated with another Ray Guy finalist nod after a season highlighted by dropping four punts inside the 10-yard line in a 38-10 win over Penn State.
He could've pulled the ripcord and declared for the NFL draft. But a free education was a big part of the lure to Columbus.
Johnston graduated with a degree in Sports Industry back in August, and soon went back punting to the standard he established the previous three years.
He finished the regular season as an All-American punter and Ray Guy finalist.
OVERARCHING CONTRIBUTION
It's hard to envision losing a future All-American punter (which is what Townsend became) and upgrading at the position, but that's what Meyer and Coombs pulled out of their sleeves in Feb. 2013.
Johnston met the Jim Tressel standard all four years wearing the Scarlet and Gray, and he did it living abroad and adjusting to a new culture.
He will also go down as the greatest Australian in Ohio State football history.
WHERE HE'S HEADED
Though Australian punters aren't as ubiquitous in the NFL as they are in college, Johnston's athleticism, leg, and accuracy will be more than enough to earn a flyer from multiple NFL teams if he goes undrafted.
Johnston has the skills to make an active roster, but he already got the degree he sought when he left the land Down Under.
