Alex Kinal, Wake Forest Punter, Sets NCAA Record for Most Career Punts

No one can ever accuse Wake Forest Demon Deacons punter Alex Kinal of not doing his job.

The senior booted his NCAA record-breaking 323rd career punt Saturday against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, per Blogger so Dear of SB Nation:

Kinal, a native of Australia, didn't start thinking about playing football until he was 20, per Michael Burke of the Daily Orange. Now he finds himself in the NCAA record books.

His 43.4 yards-per-punt average was good for 35th in FBS heading into the Notre Dame game and nearly four yards per punt better than his freshman season.

That year, he punted a career-high 95 times.

Kinal got his opportunity after sending tapes to multiple schools the fall before enrolling at Wake Forest.

He wasn't even completely sure how American football worked at the time and told Burke about his first experience with the game as a redshirt freshman in 2011 against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome: “I remember we lost, which sucked. But that was a big awakening to me about how big college football was.”

Three years later, he earned second-team All-ACC honors after pinning opponents inside the 20-yard line 27 times and never earning a touchdown back in 81 punts, per Burke.

It's a great success story for someone who picked up the game late and could possibly lead to a shot with an NFL team next season. At the very least, teams will know he did his job more than anyone else—and did it well.