{
  "id": 1468235,
  "title": "How 28-year-old former welder became favorite for Oregon punting job",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/how-28-year-old-former-welder-became-favorite-for-oregon-punting-job",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-17T11:01:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/28-old-former-welder-became-110139594.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Bailey Ettridge, a 28-year-old former welder, is now the leading candidate for the Oregon football team's punting job. The Geelong, Australia-born Ettridge, who started playing Australia rules football at the age of 5, had a completely different career path before discovering his talent for punting. For two years, he worked as a welder in Australia, using torches and plasma cutters to construct various metal pieces.\n\nIn 2023, Ettridge's life took a turn when he discovered Prokick Australia, an organization that prepares Australian footballers for American football punting. After a trial, Prokick took him in and taught him the fundamentals of American football punting. In less than a year, he became the starting punter at Nevada as a 27-year-old freshman.\n\nEttridge's first game as a Wolf Pack was at 110,000-seat Beaver Stadium in Penn State, which he describes as a culture shock due to the large crowds. His levelheaded approach and maturity helped him succeed, and as soon as he entered the transfer portal, Oregon called. His savviness, maturity, and older age have put him ahead of his teammates, Michael Sbuttoni and Jack Nicoli.\n\nJoe Lorig, the special teams coach at Oregon, is confident that Ettridge is the clear favorite to replace the outgoing punter, James Ferguson-Reynolds. Lorig notes that Ettridge's ability to handle the pressure of large crowds and his experience in Australian football make him stand out. Ettridge's opportunity to be a part of the Ducks' construction work at Autzen Stadium serves as a daily reminder of how far he has come in his football career.",
  "summary": "A year ago, Bailey Ettridge had never played in a college football game. Now he's the favorite to start for the Ducks.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}