Michael Dickson (American football)

Michael Dickson (born January 4, 1996) is an Australian professional American football punter for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas.

Michael Dickson
Dickson with the Seahawks in 2018
No. 4 – Seattle Seahawks
Position:Punter
Personal information
Born: (1996-01-04) January 4, 1996
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:208 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school:Kirrawee High School
(Sydney, NSW, Australia)
College:Texas
NFL Draft:2018 / Round: 5 / Pick: 149
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2019
Punts:152
Punting yards:7,100
Average punt:46.7
Longest punt:69
Inside 20:62
Player stats at NFL.com

Early life

Born in Sydney, Dickson first played soccer in his youth before switching to Australian rules football at the age of 12.[1] He excelled in Australian football while playing for the University of New South Wales[2] in the local Sydney AFL competition and was subsequently placed in the Sydney Swans talent academy as a teenager.[3] He continued to play for UNSW and the Swans reserves[4] in the North East Australian Football League in an attempt to be drafted to a professional AFL team[5] but was overlooked at the 2014 AFL draft.[6] Dickson's Australian football career highlight occurred when he was chosen to play for the Swans in the 2014 NEAFL Grand Final.[7] The Swans were defeated by a minor two-point margin in the final.

In 2015, at the age of 19, he moved to Melbourne to trial with Prokick Australia, a coaching program designed to help aspiring kickers and punters cross the Pacific and crack American football.[8] Through his Prokick Australia experience, he was picked up by the University of Texas as a punter.[9]

College career
Michael Dickson Big 12 Media Days

In his first season with the Longhorns, Dickson had 77 punts for 3,179 net yards for a 41.3 average in 2015.[10] In the 2016 season, he had 65 punts for 3,079 net yards for a 47.4 average.[11] In 2017, Dickson won the Ray Guy Award and was a unanimous All-American.[12] Dickson was named MVP of the 2017 Texas Bowl.[13] In his junior season, he had 84 punts for 3,984 net yards for a 47.4 average. In late December 2017, it was announced that Dickson would forgo his senior year at Texas in favor of the 2018 NFL Draft.[14][15]

Collegiate statistics
Michael Dickson Punting
Year School Conf Class Pos G Punts Yds Avg
2015 Texas Big 12 FR P 12 77 3,179 41.3
2016 Texas Big 12 SO P 12 65 3,079 47.4
2017 Texas Big 12 JR P 13 84 3,984 47.4
Career Texas 37 226 10,242 45.3

Professional career
See also: List of players who have converted from one football code to another
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 2 3⁄8 in
(1.89 m)		 208 lb
(94 kg)		 31 1⁄4 in
(0.79 m)		 9 1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)
All values from NFL Combine[16]

Dickson was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round, 149th overall, of the 2018 NFL Draft.[17] Dickson won the punting job after the Seahawks released longtime veteran Jon Ryan.[18]

He made his NFL debut in the Seahawks' season opener against the Denver Broncos. In the 27–24 loss, he had six punts for 354 net yards.[19]

Dickson was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in Week 8 against the Detroit Lions.[20] With minutes remaining at fourth-and-8 from their own three-yard line, Dickson was instructed to waste time in the end zone before giving up an intentional safety. Instead, he received the snap and ran it nine yards for the first down to seal the win.[21][22][23] The play was later dubbed "The Aussie Sweep."[24] Dickson was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November 2018.[25]

In addition to punting, Dickson has used the previously obscure drop kick maneuver on kickoffs, both onside and the standard deep kick for the Seahawks.[26] In the 2018 season, including the playoffs Dickson punted 80 times for 3,759 yards, averaging 48.2 yards per punt, the second highest in the league.[27]

Dickson was voted into the 2019 Pro Bowl, the first rookie punter since Dale Hatcher in 1985.[28] In addition, Dickson was named as a first-team All-Pro.[29]

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References
  1. "FORMER SWANS HOPEFUL'S SHOT AT NFL DREAM". www.dailytelegraph.com.au.
  2. "Longhorns take a punt on Dickson - AFL NSW / ACT". 2 September 2015.
  3. Wingard, Anthony; Stedman, Myles (30 April 2018). "Former NEAFL player Michael Dickson snapped up in NFL Draft". NEAFL. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  4. "LHN All Access: Michael Dickson [Nov. 28, 2015]". 28 November 2015 – via YouTube.
  5. Whiting, Michael. "AFL names academy players eligible for draft". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  6. McCullough, Ian (15 October 2018). "Australian punter Dickson thriving as an NFL revolutionary". Sydney Morning Herald.
  7. "Dickson eyes the big time". Sydney Swans. Archived from the original on 18 September 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  8. "Academy: Dickson joins Seahawks". sydneyswans.com.au.
  9. "Australian punter Michael Dickson committed to Texas". Gridiron DownUnder. 26 June 2015.
  10. "Michael Dickson 2015 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  11. "Michael Dickson 2016 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  12. "Texas punter declares early for NFL draft".
  13. "Texas punter Michael Dickson named Texas Bowl MVP".
  14. "Horns punter Dickson declares for NFL draft".
  15. "Michael Dickson 2017 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  16. "Michael Dickson Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  17. Boyle, John (28 April 2018). "Seahawks Draft University Of Texas Punter Michael Dickson In Fifth Round Of 2018 NFL Draft". Seahawks.com. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  18. Boyle, John (20 August 2018). "Seahawks Release Longtime Punter And Franchise Icon Jon Ryan". Seahawks.com.
  19. "Seattle Seahawks at Denver Broncos - September 9th, 2018". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  20. "James Conner, Adrian Peterson among Players of the Week". NFL.com. 31 October 2018.
  21. "Aussie Sweep: How A Bold Decision By Michael Dickson Helped The Seahawks Win In Detroit". Seahawks.com. 28 October 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  22. Bell, Gregg. "Seahawks punter Michael Dickson was freelancing when he took off running for game-clinching first down at Detroit". thenewstribune. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  23. Condotta, Bob (28 October 2018). "Seahawks punter Michael Dickson earns a new nickname with unscripted run on fake punt". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  24. Patton, Andy (29 October 2018). "'Aussie sweep' was an unplanned, but 'incredibly beautiful play'". Seahawks Wire. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  25. "AFC and NFC Players of the Month - November". NFL.com. 1 December 2018.
  26. "Michael Dickson does drop-kick kickoff and onside kick in Seahawks' loss to Bears". USA TODAY. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  27. "2018 NFL Team Punting Stats - National Football League - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  28. Condotta, Bob (18 December 2018). "Seahawks Bobby Wagner and Michael Dickson voted to the Pro Bowl, seven others are alternates". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  29. "2018 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
Preceded by
Jon Ryan		 Seattle Seahawks punters
2018–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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