NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Noah Tracey says football first crossed his radar around 2018. Now the Norfolk State sophomore considers it his craft.
The Australian native grew up in the Blue Mountains of the country, playing rugby and soccer as a kid. A friend introduced him to American football and he soon found himself training at the ProKick Australia academy amid the pandemic.
"Everybody pretty much said 'you've got the fundamentals Now you've got to bring everything down, you've got to simplify everything, build your explosiveness up,'" Tracey said of training at ProKick. "They pretty much prep you as best they can to be over here without being over here."
ProKick prepares players from Australia to compete for American colleges. Hundreds of the institution's alumni have found their ways onto Division I rosters. A representative from the academy shopped Tracey's film, which made its way to Norfolk State. Tracey decided on the Spartans after head coach Dawson Odums and defensive coordinator Steve Adams made their pitch.
"'My coaches try to find the best fit for their players,'" Tracey remembered of what the NSU coaches told him. "'They understand you as an individual, where you come from and see how you can adapt to a certain area and where you're best suited.'"
"You're always looking for the best players to fit," added Odums. "We had a need at punter, he was a punter, sent in his film and the rest is history."
Tracey had been in the continental United States once before for a tour of different colleges around the country, but in the late summer of 2023, he stepped off the plane as a resident and a college athlete. He didn't know anybody, was unfamiliar with the area, the people and the local lingo, but he embraced it.
"I was up for the challenge," he recalled. "Straight away, you get off that plane and you know what you're in for and you take it in your stride. There's a lot of stuff to get used to, but it's part of life. Take the opportunity and see where it takes you."
The punter arrived on campus less than two weeks before the Spartans' season opener. Initially, Tracey served as the back-up, but took over the starting job three punts into his freshman campaign. That first time stepping onto the field to kick served as quite a wake-up call.
"I took eight live reps in practice before that first game and then they put me in halfway through the game with 20,000 or 25,000 people in the stands," he said. "What a way to start. You get out here, you're sort of thrown in the deep end and that's all part of living to me. You take it in your stride and you go with it."
Fast forward to September of 2024 and Tracey is a sophomore in his second season booting the ball for the green and gold. He's adjusted to his new surroundings and feels settled in, forming a bond with his Spartan teammates that has made the transition all the more easy.
"He's always got a smile on his face," Odums said. "He's hard working. He just enjoys the process of what it takes to be really good at his craft."
"You're head is the hardest part, but once you get that down pat and understand how people work... and I had all the boys back here, got a close set of mates out here and that really helped me adapt."
From a small Australian town to the turf at Norfolk State, Tracey already has a lifetime of memories with plenty more to come. He'll continue to take the journey step-by-step and punt-by-punt.
"At the end of the day, I think we're always trying to chase something for ourselves and prove, not necessarily something to yourself, but just show people what they can do if they really put their mind to something, how fast your life can change,"the punter said. "Every day I step out on this field, there's something different to learn."
The sophomore has 17 punts in three games so far this season, averaging 38.94 yards per boot. His longest punt of the season so far is 48 yards.
Tracey and Norfolk State host Hampton in the Battle of the Bay on Saturday at 4:00 PM.
