New Nebraska punter has everyone talking with unreal boot from Day 1 of camp

The Nebraska football team has all sorts of stories already coming out of fall camp. Still, none of them may be as interesting as Archie Wilson.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound freshman is built like he could run down and make the tackle on a kickoff or punt return. Instead, the Aussie will be making the punts. He'll be making them in a way that Nebraska fans and players alike haven't seen much of in the program's history.

Archie Wilson is already impressing in Nebraska football's fall camp Day 1

"He can roll right, he can roll left, he can really run, he’s fast, he can throw," Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule said about his new punter at Big Ten Media Days. "He can punt with both feet. Really fun guy. I’m really glad that he’s here ... if you don’t know the aiming point, and you know there’s always a chance that he could throw the ball or run with it, that’ll really put defenses at a disadvantage."

Wilson showed off what he can do on the first day of Nebraska's camp. During an open practice session for the media, he proved that Rhule knew what he was talking about, rolling left and then absolutely launching a kick.

Those who were at the practice were immediately impressed that he was able to launch the ball as far as he did, even with the caveat that he wasn't under any duress and looked to be mostly messing around.

That kick did show why Wilson is the odds-on favorite to be the Huskers' punter in 2025, as special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler handpicked him from ProKick Australia, which has produced top college and NFL punters.

Ekeler and Rhule wanted a rugby punter so opposing defenses and punt return units have less certainty about what might happen on a given punt, delaying both a punt block — which dogged the Huskers in wins over Rutgers and Boston College — and a quality return.

Bringing in Wilson is just one of the ways that Ekeler has tried to reshape a special teams unit that has been bad for years. For the Nebraska football team, it's so far so good, after the first day.