Nick McLarty’s first year in America didn’t go as planned.
When the 6-foot-7 Australian with a leg more powerful than a crocodile’s bite came to Ohio State, the expectation was that he’d start as a freshman. Ryan Day named him the team’s top punter before the Buckeyes’ Week 1 game against Akron.
But consistency issues and the culture shock of the college game kept McLarty on the bench for all but two of Ohio State’s 49 punts in 2024. Walk-on and fellow Aussie Joe McGuire won the starting punter job and booted the other 47.
McLarty could have been discouraged, embittered. Instead, he chose introspection and a growth mindset.
“There was expectations with coming in and playing and starting, and I know stuff got said and it was awesome for me and it was awesome back home, but the harsh reality was I wasn't ready,” McLarty said in April. “I think now it's a stepping stone to see how far I can push myself and I think this year is a great opportunity to see how far I can take it.”
McGuire returns alongside McLarty in 2025, but with the lessons he learned from last year and an offseason he’s attacked with fervor, McLarty hopes to challenge his close friend to be Ohio State’s punter.
“I don't think I was emotionally ready, I don't think I was physically ready,” McLarty said. “I think being able to see the back end of the season and what it took from the team and especially someone like Joe, he had to step up. And he was ready for it obviously, but he had to take on the responsibility of what Jesse (Mirco) left and all that sort of stuff. So yeah, it's a great opportunity with what we have this year, healthy competition, which is always nice as well.”
When McLarty arrived in Columbus last summer, he brought with him tape of punts with hangtimes and distances reminiscent of Buckeye greats like Tom Tupa, Andy Groom or Cam Johnston, the latter another Australian.
McLarty flexed that muscle occasionally in preseason camp during practices open to the media, the best of his punts easily clearing the best of his counterparts. But there were also plenty of mishits mixed in, exaggerated by the power in his right cleat. The operational speed required to ensure that his punts weren’t blocked was a major adjustment from Australian rules to American football.
“Physically, the big issue for me was speed, operation time,” McLarty said. “Joe did a phenomenal job at the expectations of getting that lower. And a big thing for us is not getting blocked, we haven't been blocked in four years, five years. So for me to come in and change what I was doing and speed it up, there was a real sort of personal conflict where I wanted to be the best punter I could possibly be, but that was conflicting with the speeds they wanted.”
Nearly 10,000 miles separated McLarty from his home in Melbourne. He was adjusting to a new country, new customs, finding new friends, all as a first-time college student, while grappling with the on-field pressures he faced as an Ohio State football player.
“It was definitely an emotional toll,” McLarty said. “Without your family, it's definitely hard. Time zone differences don't also help the situation. At that time, it was 16 hours, so I would wake up and they would be going to sleep or vice versa. So it was definitely emotional, and the actual stress of trying to keep up with what they wanted also was a mental toll. Fortunately, I had a lovely lady called Nicole Kraft, who was one of my teachers, and she got me in contact with some pretty cool people. So I worked with some sports psychologists and all that sort of stuff to work on that mental side, which was far more important for me than the actual physical side.”
“I don't think I was emotionally ready, I don't think I was physically ready.”– Nick McLarty
McLarty’s two punts last season averaged just 32.5 yards, although he felt gamedays were the least of the pressures he faced. He played before large stadiums in Australian rules football and had his mental mettle tested by his coaches in practice.
“It actually didn't feel that bad because the pressure that they put you under in practice is so much more intense than what it is on the field (in a game) and they're trying to put you in the worst possible situation in practice,” McLarty said. “So when it comes time to perform in-game, you do your job. That's the blessing about being at a school like Ohio State, everyone around you, scout team, those that are on your team and against you are the best players in the country.”
McGuire, for his part, averaged 42.1 yards per punt in 2024 and bashed a 51-yard boot in the College Football Playoff national championship game against Notre Dame. He enters his junior season, presenting a significant hurdle to playing time for McLarty over the next two years.
It left McLarty with a choice this offseason: Either stick it out with the Buckeyes or transfer somewhere else with a better guarantee of playing time. He chose to bite down on his mouth guard and stay the course.
“I just sort of had to change my mindset and think about truly what I wanted to be,” McLarty said. “If I wanted to be at a school like Ohio State, which had high expectations, or go somewhere else. But with that, I just had to commit to it. So I just had to work with Coach (Rob) Keys. John Ferlmann, our long snapper, I live with him now, but we work every night to make sure that what we're doing is game-like and making sure that the speeds that we go out in practice are faster than what it is in-game.”
