Sam Irwin-Hill (born 10 October 1990) is an Australian former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

punter. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

Early life

Irwin-Hill, attended high school at Bendigo, Australia, where he practiced

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

. He played junior football at Eaglehawk Football Club and also played for the Bendigo Pioneers in the TAC Cup under 18s competition. He started learning

in an Academy called PROKICK Australia and one of his teammates was Tom Hornsey.

College career

Irwin-Hill accepted a football scholarship from the City College of San Francisco. As a freshman, he was the team's punter, averaging 40.6 yards per punt, while helping the Rams win the CCCAA state title with a perfect 12-0 record. Being an ambidextrous punter, he could kick with either leg. As a sophomore, he punted 44 attempts for an average of 41.7 yards per punt, including a long of 77 yards and downed 15 punts inside the 20-yard line. He helped the team advance to the CCCAA championship game, finishing the year with a 10-2 mark. He received first-team

Junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors. He transferred to the

after his sophomore season in 2013. As a junior, he appeared in 12 games, averaging 44.3 yards (third in the conference) in 46 punt attempts. He led the SEC with 20 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. As a senior, he appeared in 13 games, averaging 40.1 yards in 58 punt attempts and dropped 27 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. He rushed twice for 74 yards, including a 51-yard

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

run against

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

. He finished his collegiate career with a total of 4,365 yards on 104 punt attempts.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

On 17 April,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, Irwin-Hill was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, where he was tried at both

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

and punter. He had previously attended minicamp on a tryout basis with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. In the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

, he handled both punting and kicking duties. He was waived on 1 September

Washington Commanders

On 16 March,

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, Irwin-Hill signed with the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

, but he was waived on 11 July.

San Diego Fleet

On 26 October 2018, Irwin-Hill signed with the San Diego Fleet. He suffered an injury before the start of the 2019 season and was placed on the roster exempt list on 30 January. After missing the season opener due to

travel visa A visa (; also known as visa stamp) is a conditional authorization granted by a polity to a foreigner that allows them to enter, remain within, or leave its territory. Visas typically include limits on the duration of the foreigner's stay, area ...

issues, he was activated on 12 February. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

Atlanta Falcons

On October 8, 2019, Irwin-Hill was signed to the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

practice squad, but was released three days later following an issue with his

. On February 7, 2020, Irwin-Hill was signed by the Atlanta Falcons. On April 25, 2020, Irwin-Hill was released by the Falcons.

References

External links

Arkansas Razorbacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin-Hill, Sam 1990 births Living people Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Sportspeople from Bendigo Australian players of American football American football punters City College of San Francisco Rams football players Arkansas Razorbacks football players Dallas Cowboys players Washington Redskins players San Diego Fleet players Atlanta Falcons players