This looks like the first time we’ve considered a Direct international-sport kicker. Lou Hedley is Australian-born and played Aussie-ball, but he was a college football punter in the U.S. at Miami all four college years. We haven’t commonly went the international route with our past kickers. Grupe, Lutz, Morstead, Gillikin, Hartley, Maher, Graham are all U.S. born. All kicked on major D-1 college teams, except for Lutz at Georgia State.
There’s great football talent all over the world. Prater, McManus, Zuerlein, & Folk are currently signed, older around 35+ and some dealt with inconsistency. Teams appear to be looking for fresh talent, big legs with possible higher ceilings of consistency. A lot of popular U.S.-born NFL kickers weren’t always kickers their whole lives in HS.
With the NFL International Player Pathway taking off, several players from the program are getting tryouts with teams right now. Saints aren’t the only team doing their diligence on an international specialist. It’s just a tryout to see what Smyth could offer.