Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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76 MARCH 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2026 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY JACK SOBLE M ackenzie Morgan once saw Jasper Scaife warm up before an Austra- lian rules football game. It was a windy day, but Morgan remembers a massive pooch punt that got his attention. Scaife is 6-foot-6 with long legs, and Morgan, a former college punter him- self, liked the way he attacked the foot- ball. He reached out to him and said, "I hope your Aussie rules career works out, but if not, call me." In September, Scaife was delisted (in American sports terms, cut) from the Hawthorn Hawks of the AFL. He and Morgan — who has converted Aussie rules castoffs to college punters since 2022 and recently founded his own training company, Inside 20 Punting, got to work. Everything Morgan believed about Scaife; he now knows was true. "From a biomechanics point of view, he's an anomaly in regard to his genetic makeup," Morgan told Blue & Gold Il- lustrated. "He kicks it really aggres- sively. And then he's got really good timing with his kicks. He's aggressive with his swing, but finds good timing. "That's why Jasper is a generational talent. People like him don't come around too often. Not at all." Around the time Scaife was on the verge of making the leap from Australia to college football, Notre Dame punter James Rendell's appeal for a third season of eligibility was denied. The Irish were disappointed — Rendell had greatly im- proved from his first season to his sec- ond, and they suspected he would take his game to another level if given a third — but now in need of a new punter, they went right back to the man who trained him. That would be Morgan, who pointed Notre Dame special teams coordinator Marty Biagi toward Scaife. His recruit- ment came together quickly, and Scaife signed with the Irish in December. "Faith is extremely important to me, and that aligns perfectly with Notre Dame's brand," Scaife said. "I honestly don't know a hell of a lot about Ameri- can football. I'm slowly learning. It is so different from the game I grew up playing and watching. Madden certainly helped me. "But Coach Biagi and Coach [Marcus] Freeman are both incredibly intelligent men, incredibly diligent people who I'm extremely excited to learn from." Scaife, who has all four years of eli- gibility remaining, will compete with sophomore Erik Schmidt for the start- ing job in 2026 — Biagi's fourth season in South Bend. "Coach Biagi's an absolute legend," Scaife said. "Super-hard worker, very diligent. Won't stop until the job's done kind of operator. Obviously he's su- per smart and knows what he's talking about. He's been there and done it." Scaife will be Notre Dame's second Australian punter, following Rendell. His predecessor's career started slowly, with Freeman even answering questions about Rendell's struggles in September 2024. Rendell figured it out and was a Ray Guy Award semifinalist in 2025. Logic dictates Scaife, who is new to American football, will require some patience as well. But Morgan, who has worked extensively with both, believes his learning curve might not be as steep. "I think his ability to hit a drop punt, like an end-over-end punt from the pocket, is really, really good," Morgan said. "That's probably what sets him apart from other people in their first year. He's got really good leg strength to be able to keep a drop punt, end-over- end punt, from the pocket. That will al- low him to hit the ground running more than others." ✦ Notre Dame Found A Gem In Australian Punter Jasper Scaife Scaife, a former Australian rules football player who is 21 years old, will have four years of eligibility with the Fighting Irish. PHOTO COURTESY AFL JASPER SCAIFE PUNTER 6-6 · 215 WARWICK SENIOR WEST PERTH, WEST AUSTRALIA RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. AUST. Industry ✪✪✪ 2682 7 — ✪✪✪ — 19 — ✪✪✪ — 6 12 ✪✪✪ — 33 2 NOTABLE • Played for Hawthorn Football Club of the Aus- tralian Football League in 2024. • Trained to punt in American football with Mackenzie Morgan, who also trained former Irish punter James Rendell. RECRUITMENT • Committed to Notre Dame on Dec. 25, 2025. • Enrolled at Notre Dame in January. • Recruited by special teams coordinator Marty Biagi. 2026 PROJECTION • Scaife will compete for the starting punter job in 2026.