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NFL the 'ultimate goal' for Eddie’s son Joe McGuire but National Championship the focus
Lachlan Geleit • January 18th, 2025 3:24 pm
The name McGuire has been one that’s intertwined with AFL, with media personality and ex-Collingwood President Eddie McGuire one of footy’s biggest names.
While Eddie has had his fair share of front and back pages over the years, his son Joe could do the same next week as he steps out as the Ohio State punter in next week’s US College Football National Championship against Notre Dame.
Joe is one of a raft of Aussies punting in the US college system, and he’ll even come up against another one of his compatriots against the fighting Irish, with James Rendell, the son of former Fitzroy ruckman Matt punting for the opposition.
It’s been a long journey to College Football’s biggest game for Joe who was able to win the coveted punting position at the Buckeyes this off-season without even coming from an elite Aussie Rules background.
While Joe wasn’t a star footy player as a youngster, one thing he always possessed was a strong leg and a meeting with ProKick Australia’s Nathan Chapman set him on the journey that he could have never foreseen only a few years ago.
“One of my mates actually came to me during COVID and said, ‘You've got a decent leg on you’, which was one of the only good attributes of my footy,” McGuire told SEN Breakfast.
“So, I reached out to Chappy (Nathan Chapman, head of ProKick Australia) to have a bit of a kick and see what it was about … I met with him not knowing it was a tryout but did well enough that he said there's enough to work with here.
“So, I worked with him and Dave Tuinauvai at Conquest Fitness to gain about 20kg of mostly muscle to get my body right.
“Then I ended up coming over to Ohio State, which was unreal. In my first year here, I was the backup to Jesse Mirco, who's a fellow Australian as well from Perth.
“He (Mirco) was unreal, he was just the perfect mentor, he showed me the ropes and taught me how to do well on and off the field with academics and football.
“In the off-season, there was a competition to see who would replace Jesse since he left, and luckily I was fortunate enough to win that job and play.”
While one day playing in the NFL is the ultimate goal for McGuire, his focus is solely on Tuesday’s (AEDT) Championship game as the Buckeyes look to win their first title since the 2014 season.
“It (making the NFL) is definitely the ultimate goal,” McGuire said.
“I've definitely got a long way to go before I look at that. I've got another three years here at college before I’d look at that.
“But of course, being at Ohio State especially, the ultimate goal is to make it to the league.
“At the moment, the goal is to just get the job done next week and then get ready for another big season next year.
“But I’ve still got a whole week of practice ahead of me, so that's sort of at the front of my mind now.”
Ohio State face Notre Dame on Tuesday, January 21 (AEDT) at Atlanta’s Mercedez-Benz Stadium.
