Maryland Adds Australian Kicker Brad Craddock: Imagining An Aussie Football Invasion

Maryland head coach Randy Edsall added Australian-born kicker Brad Craddock to the Terrapin roster, per The Washington Post‘s Terp Insider.

Some details about Craddock:

Paul Myberg of The Pre-Snap Read tweeted Craddock is the third Aussie kicker in the Bowl Subdivision for 2012, joining Memphis’ Tom Hornsey and LSU’s Brad Wing.

Three players hardly signifies an invasion. This isn’t the 1980s we’re talking, when Aussie-mania ran rampant through the United States, thanks to Men At Work singing of friendly giants doling out Vegemite sandwiches, Crocodile Dundee teaching us what a knife truly is, and Mel Gibson before we knew his hatred of…well, everything, was wandering a post-apocalyptic world.

No, Craddock’s commitment to Maryland is hardly the latest installment in a mass migration from the Land Down Under. But if the new Terrapin can excel, maybe it should be. After all, who wouldn’t want to see Lord Humongous play defensive end wearing a mask that puts all of Justin Tuck’s to shame?

Wing became something of an internet sensation last fall, when he broke a long run off a fake punting formation, and scored a touchdown against Florida. But what really cemented his sensation status was his scoring jaunt being called back for taunting.

A punter. Taunting. And it was justified! Not since “Summer Heights High” character Jonah has an Australian exhibited such flagrant disregard for his opposition, or such unadulterated swagger.

Editor’s note: Below clip contains some harsh language. Consider yourself warned.

College football’s current triumvirate of Wing, Hornsey and now Craddock are hardly the first Aussies to make the global leap. Ten Australians were invited to the NFL, and Wing is likely to become the most noteworthy since San Diego Charger great Darren Bennett, another kicker.

Punting allows for an easier crossover from the Australian to the American game. Australians play their brand of football on a pitch double the size of an American gridiron, and being able to sail long boots through the goal posts is the most common method of scoring. Therefore, the transition is relatively seamless.

However, for those who have channel surfed late on a summer Saturday and come across ESPN’s broadcasts of the AFL, you have seen players whose physicality may translate to strong safety. The tackling in Aussie rules football is brutal, conducted without the aid of pads. An intrepid defensive coordinator could use some of that brutality to concoct a menacing blitz package.

Someone get Lord Humongous on the phone.