Gumbo and Grits: From Down Under to the Vaught, Australian Oscar Bird Takes Over Ole Miss Punting Duties
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss has a new face at the punting position, but a very similar accent. Freshman Oscar Bird is another Australian kicker who has come through the door, following last season’s punter Fraser Masin who spent three seasons in Oxford.
Bird, who played professionally in the Australian Football League, is a 23-year-old who signed with Ole Miss as a member of the 2024-25 class. He enrolled early and was with the team throughout spring camp.
Bird is looking to find the same success as his predecessor, and he is loving his new scenery.
Following in footsteps of other Aussie kickers
It’s become a regular feature to see Australian kickers in college football, as they come from a sport that requires a lot of kicking in order to move the ball forward. Former Ole Miss punter Masin shared a similar background, and Bird also mentioned in his press conference that he came from the same AFL team as NFL punter Michael Dickson who has established himself as one of the best players at his position with the Seattle Seahawks.
Bird is at the start of his journey, and he revealed his thought process regarding the transition to college football and how the opportunity came about.
“I grew up with the dream to play AFL (Australian Rules Football) professionally, and the door was closing pretty quickly to make that jump to professional,” Bird said.
“I ran into a guy I knew who had just come back from playing four seasons at different college teams. He just said that Pro Kick Australia offers guys a chance to transition into college football, and my awareness of college football was limited at that point.”
Oscar Bird
He continued on, describing what the journey was like.
“Oxford just felt like the most homey college town that I’d been to. There was a special connection there, and I got to meet Fraser for the first time. That’s the great thing about Australians having been here before. He was so generous with his time, and even when I got here in January he was still preparing for Pro Day. Just getting to learn off him and obviously the special team system has been going through an Australian punter the last three years. That transition was really helpful.”
Oscar Bird
It’s an exciting moment in Bird’s life as he discovers more about Oxford — a place that is one of the reasons that drew him to the Rebels over other schools. He sees similarities to his life back home in Australia; however, he has been introduced to two new types of food that he had never heard of before.
“It is similar, the food we eat here at the facility, 80% of it will be similar to what I would eat back home, with subtle variations, maybe a little bit more fried. (And) things like gumbo and grits, those things I’ve never seen in my life before.”
Oscar Bird
The smile never left Bird’s face while talked about his journey, describing all the things he is learning about the area and getting excited for his first season.
Jordan Merritt
Jordan is a freelance writer who covers sports, games, and more. A United Kingdom native, he covers everything Ole Miss for The Rebel Walk. He has written for several publications, including Athlon Sports, On SI, Fansided, and others. Away from writing, he loves spending time with his family and watching films and TV series.
