Mitch McCarthy, a one-time basketball player turned Australian Rules football pro, has found his footing at UCF.
The rising sophomore - who is 25 years old - talked about his path to becoming a Knight and how he's adjusting to life in the United States as well as American football.
Here's a recap from the 17-minute interview:
McCarthy is 25 years old.
He played Australian Rules football back home. There are some similarities to American football, but he's still learning the rules on where to kick the ball. The physical part of kicking/punting is no problem. He said his first-ever punt at FAU last year he lined a few steps back from where he should have been. The biggest difference is having a rush coming at you.
"It's been fun. I've enjoyed the journey so far."
McCarthy then went on to further explain how he got to UCF. He was part of an organization in Australia called Pro Kick, the assists with recruiting and exposure so players can connect with USA college football teams.
He didn't know much about UCF besides Tacko Fall.
Alex Ward was a leader for him last year. He basically followed him around last year like a "puppy dog" because he didn't know what to do otherwise. He said he thanked Alex the other day for everything he did for him.
I remembered that Mitch was considered a basketball prospect during his high school years. He played in California for a year. I asked if he was the best basketball player on the team.
"I haven't picked up a ball in a few years... I miss it a lot."
He added he had basketball college interest, but then returned home to play Australian Rules Football (which paid money).
"I do miss basketball a lot. I think it's still my No. 1 love."
He was a shooting guard/small forward. He was 6-6, 170 pounds back then. He had interest from Middle Tennessee, Gonzaga, Valpo, Baylor and a few others.
"It was a good experience. It taught me how the U.S. college system works."
McCarthy understands the punting aspect, but not so much about the other positions. He's amazed by the "athleticism of the boys... We're not that athletic back home."
He said maybe 3/4 of the UCF team thinks he played rugby, which is not Australian Rules football. He's tried to teach them about it.
Brian Blackmon recruited him via Facetime.
Colton Boomer is like his little brother. "Good sense of humor. He's really cheeky." They've helped each other through some tough times.
His No. 1 goal is to help the team and win a Big 12 championship. He did say he's 25 year olds and should be working back home, so he's going to take this as far as he can.
It's a significant time change from Florida to Australia, 14 hours. It's tough being away from home.
He wants to improve his net punting mark this year. He was around 40.5 last year, wants to get up to 42-43. Blackmon has some interesting punt ideas "up his sleeve" which is what they're working on now, to keep returners guessing. He also wants to improve kicking spirals.
He recently met up with other Australian punters in Nashville over spring break. He thinks there's 80 Australians in college football. He met up with players from Tennessee, Rutgers, Temple (who just graduated) and Vanderbilt. They trained at Vandy and "let their hair down and had fun" afterward.
Asked about what he likes in the U.S., McCarthy said he's a big fan of Mexican food. He likes Habaneros. He likes the queso dip at Tijuana Flats. Chick-fil-A is good too. He was asking which Mexican place has the "big fat burritos" - that's Chipotle. He likes the amount of food for the price.
He hasn't been around much in Central Florida, besides the team outing to Sea World and Colton Boomer's brother taking him to Disney World.
What does he miss from Australia? Chicken parma with chips and veggies. He misses the coffee. There's a big "coffee culture" in Australia. Also misses the "brunch culture."
He's going back home for a few weeks in May. It's a 24-hour flight. He go to Melbourne first, which is where he grew up. He has friends. Then he'll go to Queensland, where his parents live now. Then he'll go to Darwin for a friend's wedding.
