Seymour’s Hudson Kaak is taking a punt on his sporting future.
Literally.
A prodigious junior football talent and crucial member of Seymour’s senior football side in 2021, Kaak will officially trade the leather of a Sherrin for the pigskin of an American football as he takes his talents to Oklahoma State to become a punter.
This will see him take the field among the biggest stars in American sport, as he looks to follow the likes of Ben Graham, Saverio Rocca and Michael Dickon in flying the Australian flag in the NFL.
Accepting a scholarship to one of the nation’s most prestigious football programs in Oklahoma State, Kaak said he was filled with excitement when the news filtered through.
“It was really just excitement. It is obviously such a great opportunity and it was a bit surreal to think I will actually be suiting up for Oklahoma State,” Kaak said.
“It took a little while for everything to sink in, but once everything became official and I started to get messages from the players and coaches over there, it really hit me.
“One of the most exciting things for me is the fact that I am heading over to one of the biggest football states there is, and Oklahoma State has one of the best programs in college football, so it will provide a lot of opportunities for me.”
Like so many Aussie punters before him, Kaak’s gridiron journey began with Geelong-based program ProKick.
He explained how he managed to get involved and what drew him to the foreign game.
“Growing up I was all about Aussie rules footy and was never really that much into American football, to be honest,” he said.
“Punting was something that has always been in the back of my mind, though, because I’ve always been such a big kick, but I never really thought I’d act upon it.
“But then ProKick came along and I went down to try-outs having hardly ever touched an American football before, but I did pretty well and got contacted by the head coach and got invited back to be part of the program.”
Officially part of the ProKick academy, Kaak quickly went to work, completely dedicating himself to the sport and travelling down to Geelong three nights a week for training.
He said he was more than happy to devote so much of his time to learning the craft, with the hard toil pivotal in getting him the opportunity to take his game to the mecca of college football.
“It was a big commitment but I just saw it as being ‘it will be all worth it in the end’,” he said.
“The opportunity was in front of me, and ProKick assured me they saw a lot of potential in me, so I didn’t want to not put 100 per cent into it.
“And the process of getting recruited was very different to what I had experienced with Australian football. There was a lot of filming of my kicking that we sent over to all the schools.
“But once I knew Oklahoma State was interested I knew they’d be the ones I wanted to work with and to be able to accept a scholarship to such a big school, I couldn’t be more thrilled.”
The toughest part of the experience would be the decision to give up a career in Australian football, the sport he grew up loving.
Beginning his sporting journey with Yea before completing his junior career with St Mary’s in Seymour, Kaak quickly showed himself to be a prodigious talent. As such, he was heavily involved with the Murray Bushrangers NAB League program and earned a state jumper in the Victoria Country under-16s squad.
But with the AFL in sight, persistent injuries plagued the all-important lead-up to his draft year, with an inability to consistently get on the park for two seasons ruling him out of contention in the eyes of recruiters.
Returning to full fitness, Kaak revived his football career with Seymour in 2021, leading the club’s goal-kicking to become one of the Goulburn Valley League’s most powerful forwards.
However, with the opportunity of a professional sporting career presenting itself with American football, the 21-year-old had to make the tough decision to give the Sherrin away.
“Growing up, my main focus and goal was to get drafted, but unfortunately in the two most important years before my draft I had a lot of injuries that set me back,” Kaak said.
“(To give up football) it was a decision I certainly didn’t take lightly, I had committed and devoted my whole life to footy and have really strong connections with people at Seymour which made it hard to walk away.
“It was one of those things where I thought I would have regretted it if I didn’t take the opportunity and see where American football could take me.
“Unfortunately the stars didn’t align for my AFL dream and this is a route I didn’t see coming, but in saying that, I am very excited about it.”
Committing to Oklahoma State University for season 2023, the next six months will be a whirlwind for Kaak as he travels to and from the campus to meet the team and transition his life to the US.
But with an opportunity to showcase his talent in front of hundreds of thousands of diehard supporters on the horizon, he said he could not wait to get stuck into it.
“The long-term goal for me now is to get picked up and play in the NFL, but at this point it’s more about getting over there and earning the respect of my teammates and coaches,” he said.
“I was so taken aback by how big college football is over there. You can get up to 100,000 fans at a game and there is so much media attention. It will be surreal to actually compete.
“Hopefully I can make an impression over there and just have fun with it.”