Australian Tory Taylor was greeted with a classic Aussie welcome after he was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the NFL Draft over the weekend.
Taylor joined the growing crop of Australians in the NFL when the Chicago Bears drafted him with the No. 122 overall pick in the fourth round.
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The 26-year-old joins Michael Dickson, Mitch Wishnowsky and Lou Hedley as the latest Aussie punter to make the NFL.
The former AFL hopeful spent three years on Hawthorn’s list before being cut in 2020.
Taylor, who broke punting records playing college football for Iowa, was told over the phone by longtime Bears college scout Jeff Shiver his NFL dream was about to come true.
Footage of the phone call was shared by the Bears, and after Taylor reiterated his gratitude for being picked, Shiver signed off in classic Aussie fashion.
Shiver: Jeff Shiver with the Bears.
Taylor: Yes sir. How’s it going?
Shiver: All right. Hey, would you like to be a Chicago Bear?
Taylor: Absolutely, I’ve love nothing more.
Shiver: Well we’re about to pick you buddy.
Taylor: Appreciate that. Thank you.
Shiver: Well hey, we’re excited to have you. Here’s our general manager Ryan Poles.
Taylor: I really appreciate that, thank you.
Shiver: All right. surf’s up, mate.
Bears staff could be heard chuckling at Shiver’s “surf’s up” comment before Taylor continued speaking to Bears head coach Matt Eberflus and Special Teams coach Richard Hightower.
Taylor, who broke an 85-year-old NCAA record with 4479 punting yards from 93 attempts last season, etched his name into the history books as Iowa’s first-ever Ray Guy Award winner.
The Australian also became the only Big Ten punter to be named the Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year twice in their career, further cementing his place in Hawkeyes folklore.
The Chicago Bears also drafted Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick and the quarterback seemed confident the Aussie wouldn’t need to rescue the team too much with his mega punts to gain field position.
Taylor told The Athletic Williams sent him a text message that said: “Hey, you’re not going to punt too much here.”
That kind of arrogance isn’t something they’ve seen for a while in Chicago with the Bears a perennial cellar dweller in the NFL having not won a Super Bowl since 1986.
Five quarterbacks went in the first 10 picks of the draft with no defensive players selected.
All three of the top draft picks were used to select quarterbacks, with The Washington Commanders choosing Jayden Daniels from Louisiana State University and the New England Patriots opting for North Carolina signal-caller Drake Maye.
The Bears’ choice of Williams was widely expected, with the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner seen as the answer to the franchise’s long-running problem at the position.
Last month, the Bears traded their quarterback Justin Fields, a first round pick in 2021, to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Williams began his college career at Oklahoma before switching to USC and in 37 games, with 33 starts, he threw for 9,782 yards and 93 touchdown passes with an additional 27 rushing touchdowns.
The Bears provided Williams with a wide-receiver with the ninth pick opting for Washington’s Rome Odunze.
The Patriots were taking part in the draft without Bill Belichick as their head coach for the first time since 1999 and they will hope Maye can end their search for a quarterback to finally replace Tom Brady.
In a quarterback heavy top of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons surprisingly opted for Michael Penix Jr out of Washington with the eighth pick despite recently signing a quarterback in Kirk Cousins.
Penix is a highly-rated quarterback but was expected to have fallen down the draft due to concerns over a series of injuries he has suffered including two anterior cruciate ligament knee injuries.
To replace Cousins, the Minnesota Vikings moved up a place in the draft to take Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the 10th pick.
There had been speculation that the New York Giants might make a move for a quarterback with their sixth pick but they opted for a wide receiver in Malik Nabers from LSU.
The Los Angeles Chargers took an offensive tackle in Joe Alt out of Notre Dame and the Tennessee Titans also took a player in that role, drafting Alabama’s JC Latham.
With AFP