Irish in the NFL 2024: Signings, debuts and scholarships in a successful year for Irish kickers abroad

2024 has seen Irishmen take strides in American Football, with scholarships, signings and debuts happening throughout the year.

The big story early in the year was the signing of Charlie Smyth to the New Orleans Saints in March, with the Down goalkeeper becoming the first Gaelic footballer to make the leap straight to the NFL.

After securing the deal as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway (IPP) program with the training and help of Tadhg Leader and Leader Kicking, the Mayobridge clubman was signed onto the practice squad of the Louisiana-based franchise.

He has yet to make his debut in the NFL yet but has continued to grow in his abilities during his time in the States.

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Jude McAtamney of Swatragh became the first Derry man to play in the NFL after he made his debut for the New York Giants against the Washington Commanders.

McAtamney attended Rutgers University and has been kicking for four years but was signed through the IPP and put on the practice squad initially.

However, due to injuries in the squad, McAtamney was called up to action and shone in his debut, converting all of his kicks and scoring four points in total (a field goal and converting a touchdown).

Green Bay Packers punter Daniel Whelan has so far impressed in his second season in the NFL, averaging 46.2 yards per punt and achieving a career-best 74-yard kick earlier in the season.

The Packers seem to be in good shape to make the playoffs this season, with 10 wins and four losses so far this season.

This would make Whelan the second Irishman to have made it into the play-off stage of the season, with Dublin’s Neill O’Donoghue making it to that stage with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St Louis (now Los Angeles) Rams.

At the collegiate level, there have been a number of Irish players in action across the conferences from all over the island of Ireland, with former Connacht rugby player and professional American football player Tadhg Leader having a hand in getting all of the Irish college players scholarships.

After an impressive first season by any standard, Armagh’s Paddy McAteer has been named as the kick-off specialist in the All-Sun Belt Conference second team of the year.

McAteer, with the help of Leader Kicking, earned a full scholarship to the Alabama-based school and played in all 12 of the Trojans' games this year.

He averaged 64.1 yards per kick-off for his side and was also nominated as the game captain for Troy’s last game of the season against the Ragin Cajuns of Louisville.

Derry’s Jack Scullion also made his debut this year in college football, playing for McAtamney’s Alma Mater Rutgers University.

The Lavey-born goalkeeper played as a placekicker for the New Jersey-based university, averaging 60.4 yards per kick over 12 games.

Ross Bolger, who is a senior at Idaho State, amassed 2051 yards after 46 punting attempts.

Bolger, from Laois, has entered the transfer portal and will now look to move to a new university as he looks to make the most of his college athlete eligibility.

Kildare’s Sean O’Haire made 100 per cent of his kicks throughout his entire first season with Richmond Spiders.

He played five games throughout his debut season, scoring 12 field goals and nine points after touchdowns. He was the team’s third-highest scorer of the season with 45 points in total.

He set a school record by kicking five field goals in one game against Towson.