MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia found its current punter less than a mile from campus. Its future punter currently resides 10,000 miles away.
Australian specialist Angus Davies announced overnight Wednesday that he committed to West Virginia, making it the latest FBS program to mine powerful legs from Down Under.
Davies became the Mountaineers’ 21st commitment for 2018, as first reported by WVSports.com’s Keenan Cummings, who said Davies plans to sign his letter of intent during the December early period.
Before facing Texas last week, WVU coach Dana Holgorsen described Michael Dickson as “the best punter I’ve ever seen.” The Longhorns punter subsequently pinned four of his seven punts inside the 20 during a 28-14 win over WVU.
Dickson’s 48-yard average tops the nation, replete with the hang time and directional accuracy to help Texas lead in net punting (44.2). West Virginia, with Morgantown High graduate Billy Kinney having an uneven season, currently ranks 113th with a 35.3-yard net.
“The Dickson kid, it’s unreal,” Holgorsen said. “That dude, he can get it off as fast as he wants to get it off, he can kick it any different way he wants to, sideline, field, rugby. He gets upwards to about five seconds hang time, which is unheard of. Dude needs to go pro right now. He’s just a junior, but he needs to hurry up and get his degree and go pro. He’s that good.”
Dickson trained in high school at ProKick Australia, essentially a punter factory where Davies also spent the past two years working on his mechanics.
Davies did not visit West Virginia on his only trip to the U.S. mainland, but told Rivals, “Morgantown is where I want to play football.”
West Virginia’s commitments for 2018:
| Dante Stills (Fairmont, W.Va..) | 6-4, 265 | DL | 4 stars |
| Kwantel Raines (Aliquippa, Pa.) | 6-3, 200 | DB | 4 stars |
| Leddie Brown (Smyrna, Del.) | 6-1, 190 | RB | 4 stars |
| T.J. Banks (North Versailles, Pa.) | 6-6, 240 | TE/DE | 4 stars |
| Joshua Norwood (Senatobia, Miss) | 5-11, 185 | DB | 3 stars |
| Charlie Benton (El Dorado, Kan.) | 6-3, 215 | LB | 3 stars |
| Randy Fields (Baltimore, Md.) | 6-3, 190 | WR | 3 stars |
| Trey Lowe (Bolivar, Tenn.) | 6-3, 175 | QB | 3 stars |
| Briason Mays (Bolivar, Tenn.) | 6-4, 290 | OL | 3 stars |
| James Gmiter (Bethel Park, Pa.) | 6-4, 300 | DT | 3 stars |
| Sam James (Richmond, Hill, Ga.) | 6-1, 160 | WR | 3 stars |
| Mike O’Laughlin (Oak Park, Ill.) | 6-5, 215 | TE | 3 stars |
| Tyrese Allen (Paintsville, Ky.) | 6-3, 290 | DT | 3 stars |
| Josh Chandler (Canton, Ohio) | 6-0, 220 | LB | 2 stars |
| Blaine Scott (Portsmouth, Ohio) | 6-4, 299 | OL | 3 stars |
| Jayce Rogers (Valdosta, Ga.) | 5-8, 160 | CB | 3 stars |
| Oyenmwen Uzebu (Alpharetta, Ga.) | 6-6, 300 | OL | 3 stars |
| Bryce Wheaton (Holly Springs, N.C.) | 6-3, 200 | ATH | 3 stars |
| Alex Williams (Pickerington, Ohio) | 6-7, 240 | DE | 3 stars |
| Tavis Lee (Martinsburg, W.Va) | 6-3, 227 | DE | 3 stars |
| Angus Davies (Torquay, Australia) | 6-1, 182 | P | 0 stars |