Whitford makes verbal commitment to Washington

SBCC continued its recent tradition of sending Australian punters to top NCAA football schools this week when Joel Whitford announced a verbal commitment to join the Washington Huskies in the Pac-12.

Whitford, a 6-3, 200-pounder from Victoria, Australia, averaged 37.6 yards on 47 punts with a long of 60 yards for the Vaqueros as a freshman in 2015. He ranked No. 1 in California with 23 punts downed inside the 20 and was a first-team All-American Pacific League selection.

Whitford will finish his degree at SBCC in the fall and accept a scholarship to Washington in January, giving him three years to play for the Huskies. He's following a similar path to fellow Aussie Mitch Wishnowsky, an All-State punter on the 2014 Vaquero squad. Wishnowsky will punt for the University of Utah in the fall.

"Joel's versatility and maturity are what separate him from most punters," said Vaquero coach Craig Moropoulos. "He can rugby-style kick, regular kick and kick with both legs. That is very unique."

This is the third straight year the Vaqueros have sent an Australian punter to a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) school. Tim Gleeson was an All-State punter for the Vaqueros in 2013 and No. 2 in the state with a 40.3-yard average. He's a senior punter for Rutgers, which will open the 2016 season at Washington.

Husky coach Chris Petersen prefers a rugby-style punter, according to the Seattle Times. Whitford attended a UW kicking camp last weekend and impressed the coaches.

"I am a former rugby player, so I have the 'rugby style' down pretty well," Whitford told Scout.com. "I can do directional and regular punting pretty well and I am 23 right now, so I think the (UW) coaches liked that I was a bit older and had spent some time playing at the collegiate level already."