Wake Forest punter Alexander Kinal remembers his first trip to the Carrier Dome. It was the Demon Deacons’ season opener in 2011, and Kinal, then redshirting, stood on the sideline as he watched live American football for the first time in his life. Naturally, he was confused.

“I remember we lost, which sucked,” Kinal said. “But that was a big awakening to me about how big college football was.”

Four years later, Kinal — a native Australian who left his home country for Wake Forest when he was 21 — has evolved into one of college football’s best punters. With almost a full season left, he’s already set records at Wake Forest and garnered recognition not typical for a punter, making him a fan favorite. Kinal will visit the Carrier Dome for the third and final time when Wake Forest (1-0) visits Syracuse (1-0) on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.

Before college, Kinal played Australian Rules football, a rugby-like sport that emphasizes punting. One way to score is by kicking the ball between two goal posts, and the most common method of accomplishing that is with the drop-punt, when a punter drops the ball and kicks it before it reaches the ground.

It wasn’t until he was 20 when Kinal tried to punt at a Division I school. The fall before he enrolled at Wake Forest, Kinal took a friend to a rugby club and had the friend videotape him punting. Kinal then sent that film to a number of schools, and Wake Forest was one that got back to him.

“The rest is history,” Kinal said.

That includes three full seasons and the beginning of a fourth as Wake Forest’s starting punter.

On a Wake Forest team that struggles offensively — Kinal punted for nearly 1,000 more yards than the offense gained in 2014 — Kinal’s foot aids a defense that shoulders an extreme load. Kinal frequently pins teams inside the 20-yard line — he did it 27 times in 2014. In total, he punted 81 times without a touchback in 2014 and averaged 43.6 yards per punt, earning him second-team All-ACC honors.

“He can make every punt, and he can place the ball very well,” Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson said.

Against Elon in Wake Forest’s season opener on Sept. 3, Wake Forest had possession on fourth down near its own 10-yard line in the first quarter. Kinal booted the ball 70 yards inside the Elon 20, completely flipping the field.

It’s after punts like that one when linebacker Brandon Chubb, who also plays in punt coverage, said he’ll “dap up” Kinal before the punter heads to the sideline.

“I just like to tell him, ‘Thank you,’” Chubb said.

Chubb acknowledged the perception that niche players like kickers and punters aren’t real football players, and he said that Kinal is viewed by his teammates as “one of the guys.”

“Sometimes there are kickers who play football, and sometimes there are football players who happen to kick,” Clawson said. “And Kinal is a football player who happens to punt. He’s tough…and I think our football team respects him because of it.”

Kinal was voted as a team captain prior to the season. He also represented Wake Forest at ACC Media Day in Pinehurst, North Carolina in July, one of only two special teams-only players at the event.

“I didn’t really expect that,” he said. “Well, of course I didn’t expect it. I’m a punter.”

After a 3-9 season in 2014, Kinal is one of the few bright spots for Wake Forest, and the fan base has latched on. There’s a Twitter account dedicated solely to Kinal and the SB Nation Wake Forest site, Blogger So Dear, launched an “official” Heisman Trophy campaign for the punter in June.

Kinal, however, says that those aren’t things he pays much attention to.

“My friend showed me (the Twitter account) just the other day,” Kinal said, “but that’s just white noise.

“My number one goal is to flip the field. That’s what I think about.”

Published on September 10, 2015 at 7:58 pm

Contact Michael: [email protected]