Last Monday, Mack Brown announced a group of nine transfers that will be a part of the team in the spring. One of those nine was Australian Rules transfer punter Tom Maginness, who was a surprise addition to the group of eight that fans were expecting to see enroll for the spring semester. Last night, Maginness made the move official via social media.
Maginness will come to Chapel Hill after training for American football at the prestigious Prokick Australia under the tutelage of Nathan Chapman and John Smith. He is about as experienced as it gets, as he has been competing in Australian rules football for his local club since he was five years old. He progressed to the representative team of the Sandringham Dragons in the NAB league, the top under-18 level of competition and he played for the A team at his high school, St. Bede’s College. Former Tar Heel Tom Sheldon, who the team got to transfer in back in 2016 from Australia, was very complimentary of him when asked by Inside Carolina’s Ross Martin.
Maginness will have three years of eligibility at Carolina and the team may have to look to him as early as the 2023 season. Senior Ben Kiernan does have his COVID season if he wants it, but he was honored on senior day and as of right now, it is still being determined whether he will take advantage of that extra year. If he does, the Tar Heels would be bringing back one of the nation’s leaders in punt average at 46.8 yards per punt. If he doesn’t, that will lead to a battle between Maginness and redshirt freshman Cole Maynard, who backed up Kiernan this season and handled the holding duties in placekicking situations.