Q&A With Punter Jack Colquhoun
10/23/2020 | 12:45:00 | Football
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Football is won in three phases. The offense and defense receive most of the attention, but senior punter Jack Colquhoun wants to bring the Southern Illinois special teams unit to new heights this year. Having just one season of American collegiate football under his belt, the Melbourne, Australia, native is looking to put together a strong senior campaign in hopes to help the Salukis earn their first playoff berth since 2009.
What was your experience like training with Prokick Australia?
For me, it was a really smooth transition. Obviously, coming from Aussie rules and that background of kicking, a lot of the fundamentals were pretty transferrable. Nathan Chapman and John Smith (head punting and kicking coaches of Prokick) made that transition quite easy for everyone. That's why their program is so successful. So, for me, I had to make a lot of changes to my approach to kicking a ball, but more or less it was a pretty smooth transition.
There seems to be a big trend of punters coming to the United States by way of Australia. What are you being taught back home that helps you and so many others transition to the American game so well?
I really think it's just the fundamentals. In Australia, we learn how to kick before you really do anything else. In Aussie rules, everything is pretty much by foot. We have those fundamentals that can be easily directed in a change from Aussie rules to college and NFL punting. I think we have that base skill that's quite difficult to find amongst athletes in the United States because it looks different being a specialist versus any other position. I think we really just have those good fundamentals already set and it's just a matter of changing a couple of habits. Once we do that, I think we can fit into the game quite well and effectively, as we've seen within the collegiate level. There are over 40 guys now from Prokick that are playing Division I college football and five or six guys in the NFL that are from the same program. I guess there's more of an appreciation for an Australian punter now because of the background and the credibility that we have due to the success Australians have had in the collegiate and professional games.
What's the biggest thing you miss about Australia?
It'd be my family. Especially with everyone going on now, I can't really see them. I went home in March and didn't expect everything to be like this when I came back to Southern Illinois. Now, I really don't know the next time I'm going to be able to go home. I'm very close with my family and my younger sister as well, whose 21st birthday I just missed. It's those little things that add up that take a toll. Not being able to go home for the holidays is something that makes me sad, but you've got to look forward to things in the future and hopefully I'll see them soon.
What's been one of your favorite things about Carbondale?
I think my favorite thing has to be the reception that I've had since I've been here. I really took a chance leaving home and coming here. To be as well received as I have been made this whole experience 10-times better. It really solidified my choice in that I made the right decision. It's felt instantaneous how well I feel at home here. That also comes with the coaches and the players. Outside of football, just living in Carbondale is a nice change for me. Coming from a big city, it's just nice to sit back and enjoy the outdoors here. Those things have been a blessing for me.
What's your favorite meal back home?
I differ a bit from the guys around here, but I have a plant-based diet now. Back home, my sister does a pretty mean fried teriyaki tofu. We usually have that at least once a week. What's been your favorite meal or place to go in the Carbondale?
For me, I love the various cafés around campus. However, finding a great cup of coffee was something that I looked high and low for. Coming from Melbourne, I'd say we have some of the best coffee in the world. My favorite place, hands down, is Coliseum Coffee Works. Rob and the crew make a mean cup of coffee. With the take-home growlers, it's pretty ideal for a caffeine addict like myself.
Recently, you had a lot to do with Mental Illness Awareness Week. What was your involvement in that campaign?
I set the week up and helped organize it all. I had a ton of help from Rosalind Joseph and Dr. Julie Partridge along the process which really helped me ensure that the week could run as smoothly as it did. We had three keynote speakers throughout the course of the week that all addressed different parts about our student-athlete group. For me, it was just my desire to help create positive conversations around mental health and mental well-being in hopes to help destigmatize the perception of mental health. Given the landscape that we're in now with COVID, I think it's important to get some more perspective on how we may be feeling during all of these times in addition to letting the students and faculty know and understand that it's okay to not be okay. We're all here to support one another through this journey. The main goal was to just create positive conversations in the domain of mental health. I'm pretty excited to see it go forward and hope it continues to flourish.
What was the biggest thing you learned after your first season of American football?
For me, it was all about becoming aware of my surroundings. It's obviously a lot different playing here than in the Aussie rules so becoming more aware of my surroundings in regard to scheme, live-action and what the play presents to me was huge. The biggest learning curve is just getting the processes down and learning as much as I can from everyone else because I'm still a student of the game and am trying to soak up as much information as I can to not only better myself in special teams, but also provide other avenues of success for the team.
What were you feeling when you went out to kick your first collegiate punt?
It was pretty surreal. To think that I started Prokick back in January of 2019 and was able to be here come August of that year in incredible. Taking the snap and being able to kick my first collegiate punt was a pretty surreal experience. It was something that I'll never forget for the rest of my life. Just to think of where my life was 12 months prior to that to where it is now, being able to play on the TV and have my family watch back home is something that pretty special.
Do you have a checklist you go through when you're about to punt?
I'm quite a superstitious person when it comes to pregame and kicking. In my head, I'm going through the fundamentals and the play we're about to run. I also am aware of what the rush looks like, understanding what's coming for me and what the possible weaknesses are in the return. If there's something I can take advantage of that I see before I kick, that's something that I've worked to become more aware of. I'm becoming more accustomed to playing college football and becoming more comfortable in my surroundings. I'm able to pick up those tendencies that teams either leave open or allow me to make my punt more successful as well.
You're entering your senior year. What's the biggest thing on your mind?
For me, it's just to continue with the impact I had on special teams from last year. I want to really imprint on ourselves as one of the top punting units in the country. I feel like we deserve to have that recognition amongst other special teams in the country. We've got some really great guys this year to be a part of the program. I couldn't be happier to have Dan Heilbron back and snapping for me. He did a great job last year. Building off of what we did well last year will be huge. I've been working on myself and consolidating on my skills and I'm excited to put it all together. We've also brought in a few new guys that'll help out the special teams unit, so I'm really excited and ready to see it all together.
Last year, you were sixth in the Missouri Valley Football Conference in punting average, but really were just a couple of yards shy of moving up a few spots. What are you working on or doing differing to try and be the top guy in the conference?
Last year was really just about my consistency. I fell a bit in those last couple of games of the season. I just need to start strong and continue that form throughout the season. Towards the end of last season, I let a few punts get away from me and I lost some yards. I have to take that in my stride and that's something I'm continuing to work on each week. I'm excited to put all this good work to use.
What's been your favorite memory as a Saluki?
My first win against UMass was pretty special. To walk into a Division I FBS program on the road and celebrate a win was surreal. People kind of rubbed us off as underdogs and didn't think we'd even contest that game. For that to be my first win in college football was pretty special. Also, the blackout cancer game was something that really had an impact on me. I didn't know that that game was on our schedule when I came to SIU. To have a game like that is super important to me given my family's history with cancer. My nan passed away from breast cancer and my mom had it when I was younger as well. So, it's very close to me. To play in that game was a very special night for me.
What was your experience like training with Prokick Australia?
For me, it was a really smooth transition. Obviously, coming from Aussie rules and that background of kicking, a lot of the fundamentals were pretty transferrable. Nathan Chapman and John Smith (head punting and kicking coaches of Prokick) made that transition quite easy for everyone. That's why their program is so successful. So, for me, I had to make a lot of changes to my approach to kicking a ball, but more or less it was a pretty smooth transition.
There seems to be a big trend of punters coming to the United States by way of Australia. What are you being taught back home that helps you and so many others transition to the American game so well?
I really think it's just the fundamentals. In Australia, we learn how to kick before you really do anything else. In Aussie rules, everything is pretty much by foot. We have those fundamentals that can be easily directed in a change from Aussie rules to college and NFL punting. I think we have that base skill that's quite difficult to find amongst athletes in the United States because it looks different being a specialist versus any other position. I think we really just have those good fundamentals already set and it's just a matter of changing a couple of habits. Once we do that, I think we can fit into the game quite well and effectively, as we've seen within the collegiate level. There are over 40 guys now from Prokick that are playing Division I college football and five or six guys in the NFL that are from the same program. I guess there's more of an appreciation for an Australian punter now because of the background and the credibility that we have due to the success Australians have had in the collegiate and professional games.
What's the biggest thing you miss about Australia?
It'd be my family. Especially with everyone going on now, I can't really see them. I went home in March and didn't expect everything to be like this when I came back to Southern Illinois. Now, I really don't know the next time I'm going to be able to go home. I'm very close with my family and my younger sister as well, whose 21st birthday I just missed. It's those little things that add up that take a toll. Not being able to go home for the holidays is something that makes me sad, but you've got to look forward to things in the future and hopefully I'll see them soon.
What's been one of your favorite things about Carbondale?
I think my favorite thing has to be the reception that I've had since I've been here. I really took a chance leaving home and coming here. To be as well received as I have been made this whole experience 10-times better. It really solidified my choice in that I made the right decision. It's felt instantaneous how well I feel at home here. That also comes with the coaches and the players. Outside of football, just living in Carbondale is a nice change for me. Coming from a big city, it's just nice to sit back and enjoy the outdoors here. Those things have been a blessing for me.
What's your favorite meal back home?
I differ a bit from the guys around here, but I have a plant-based diet now. Back home, my sister does a pretty mean fried teriyaki tofu. We usually have that at least once a week. What's been your favorite meal or place to go in the Carbondale?
For me, I love the various cafés around campus. However, finding a great cup of coffee was something that I looked high and low for. Coming from Melbourne, I'd say we have some of the best coffee in the world. My favorite place, hands down, is Coliseum Coffee Works. Rob and the crew make a mean cup of coffee. With the take-home growlers, it's pretty ideal for a caffeine addict like myself.
Recently, you had a lot to do with Mental Illness Awareness Week. What was your involvement in that campaign?
I set the week up and helped organize it all. I had a ton of help from Rosalind Joseph and Dr. Julie Partridge along the process which really helped me ensure that the week could run as smoothly as it did. We had three keynote speakers throughout the course of the week that all addressed different parts about our student-athlete group. For me, it was just my desire to help create positive conversations around mental health and mental well-being in hopes to help destigmatize the perception of mental health. Given the landscape that we're in now with COVID, I think it's important to get some more perspective on how we may be feeling during all of these times in addition to letting the students and faculty know and understand that it's okay to not be okay. We're all here to support one another through this journey. The main goal was to just create positive conversations in the domain of mental health. I'm pretty excited to see it go forward and hope it continues to flourish.
What was the biggest thing you learned after your first season of American football?
For me, it was all about becoming aware of my surroundings. It's obviously a lot different playing here than in the Aussie rules so becoming more aware of my surroundings in regard to scheme, live-action and what the play presents to me was huge. The biggest learning curve is just getting the processes down and learning as much as I can from everyone else because I'm still a student of the game and am trying to soak up as much information as I can to not only better myself in special teams, but also provide other avenues of success for the team.
What were you feeling when you went out to kick your first collegiate punt?
It was pretty surreal. To think that I started Prokick back in January of 2019 and was able to be here come August of that year in incredible. Taking the snap and being able to kick my first collegiate punt was a pretty surreal experience. It was something that I'll never forget for the rest of my life. Just to think of where my life was 12 months prior to that to where it is now, being able to play on the TV and have my family watch back home is something that pretty special.
Do you have a checklist you go through when you're about to punt?
I'm quite a superstitious person when it comes to pregame and kicking. In my head, I'm going through the fundamentals and the play we're about to run. I also am aware of what the rush looks like, understanding what's coming for me and what the possible weaknesses are in the return. If there's something I can take advantage of that I see before I kick, that's something that I've worked to become more aware of. I'm becoming more accustomed to playing college football and becoming more comfortable in my surroundings. I'm able to pick up those tendencies that teams either leave open or allow me to make my punt more successful as well.
You're entering your senior year. What's the biggest thing on your mind?
For me, it's just to continue with the impact I had on special teams from last year. I want to really imprint on ourselves as one of the top punting units in the country. I feel like we deserve to have that recognition amongst other special teams in the country. We've got some really great guys this year to be a part of the program. I couldn't be happier to have Dan Heilbron back and snapping for me. He did a great job last year. Building off of what we did well last year will be huge. I've been working on myself and consolidating on my skills and I'm excited to put it all together. We've also brought in a few new guys that'll help out the special teams unit, so I'm really excited and ready to see it all together.
Last year, you were sixth in the Missouri Valley Football Conference in punting average, but really were just a couple of yards shy of moving up a few spots. What are you working on or doing differing to try and be the top guy in the conference?
Last year was really just about my consistency. I fell a bit in those last couple of games of the season. I just need to start strong and continue that form throughout the season. Towards the end of last season, I let a few punts get away from me and I lost some yards. I have to take that in my stride and that's something I'm continuing to work on each week. I'm excited to put all this good work to use.
What's been your favorite memory as a Saluki?
My first win against UMass was pretty special. To walk into a Division I FBS program on the road and celebrate a win was surreal. People kind of rubbed us off as underdogs and didn't think we'd even contest that game. For that to be my first win in college football was pretty special. Also, the blackout cancer game was something that really had an impact on me. I didn't know that that game was on our schedule when I came to SIU. To have a game like that is super important to me given my family's history with cancer. My nan passed away from breast cancer and my mom had it when I was younger as well. So, it's very close to me. To play in that game was a very special night for me.
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