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SOUTH BEND — Australian punter James Rendell won’t be a one-and-done contributor for Notre Dame football after all.
According to special teams coordinator Marty Biagi, Notre Dame recently heard back with good news from the NCAA regarding Rendell’s petition for additional eligibility. Rendell, 24, is now able to play at the college level through 2025.
“He has at least one more year,” Biagi said Monday evening after practice. “We’ve heard back and know that we at least have one. We’ll keep working on it.”
A former Australian Rules Football player who trained with Prokick Australia, the pipeline to American football for so many from Down Under, Rendell might have arrived sooner if not for the tragic loss of his father, Matt, who died of a heart in June 2023.
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Notre Dame never punted against Army on Saturday at Yankee Stadium, but Rendell was the special teams player of the game the previous week against Virginia after punting five times for a 45.6-yard net.
At 6-foot-6 and 224 pounds, he uncorked a career-long 58-yard punt on Senior Day and dropped four punts inside the Cavaliers’ 20.
Leonie Rendell, his mother, was in attendance for both games.
“His mom came all the way over from Australia,” Biagi said. “She was able to at least see the Virginia game. That was exciting for her to get to see her first-ever football games, so that was special.”
In early August, Rendell cited “prior precedent” for a successful petition and said Notre Dame officials were confident his eligibility request would be approved. A self-described “graduate freshman,” Rendell cited COVID-related travel restrictions and “personal hardship” due to his father’s death among key factors in his NCAA petition.
Rendell is…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/back-more-notre-dame-football-023229153.html
Author : South Bend Tribune
Publish date : 2024-11-26 02:32:00
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