Spring camp’s over, and it served as the appetizer for what’s to come in the fall. But even while the weather was nice, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows in the proverbial sense. Spring football is essentially a very marked line in the sand between ambition and reality. A tryst with players gauging the overall landscape and the circumstances at their program. Most importantly, their standing within it all. One player, despite his team making the playoffs last season, came out on the other side of camp feeling the grass is greener elsewhere. He’s hit the transfer portal and is taking his “special” talents elsewhere. Even punters have levels and brackets. This one is right in the upper echelons of that overlooked but important position group.

The transfer portal opening right after spring camp is as polarizing as anything in College Football. The Nico Iamaleava-Tennessee ordeal over the weekend has only fanned the flames of his already contentious subject. Players can bail on their teams at a very precarious time of the year. Even came across a bit selfish in the process. But you’ve got to look out for yourself sometimes. Especially when you’re entering your final year of collegiate eligibility and hoping for one big final push before your football career ends. Or maybe even boost your chances to get drafted to the NFL. Heck, maybe even see what plying your trade in a Power conference feels like. If you’re Australian, perhaps you’re simply just trying to experience a new campus!

Boise State punter James Ferguson-Reynolds, indeed from down under, has announced he’s entering the transfer portal. “After an unforgettable and incredible three-year journey with BoiseStateFB, I’ve decided to enter my name into the transfer portal with 1 year of eligibility remaining,” wrote Ferguson-Reynolds on X. “Thank you to my coaches, teammates, and Bronco Nation for the unforgettable memories, support, and lessons that I will forever hold close to me, I’m grateful for every moment I’ve had since you all took me in and will forever cherish my time here at Boise State.” James Ferguson-Reynolds came over to Boise in ‘22. Similar to many of his contemporaries hailing from an Aussie Rules background, he took to punting like a duck to water. 

Right off the bat, Ferguson-Reynolds averaged 41.8 yards a punt. The true freshman took things up a notch his sophomore year. That ‘23 season was his magnum opus, as much as a punter can have one! He averaged 49.7 yards/punt, leading the entire country. In fact, this ranked 6th all time. He even broke the Boise State single-season record in the process. James Ferguson-Reynolds was now an All-American who probably could’ve jumped ship in that off-season. Instead, he remained ten toes down. Helping Boise State make the inaugural 12-team CFP as the flag bearers for the G5. His individual numbers took a slight dip as he averaged just shy of 44 yards per attempt. But it hasn’t prevented him from now chancing the portal before running out of eligibility.

The Broncos broke through into mainstream national discourse more than ever in 2024. This was largely down to two interlinked things. Making the playoffs, of course, and having Heisman finalist Ashton Jeanty wrecking havoc out of the backfield. A rising tide lifts all boats. Whatever little opportunity Jeanty left Ferguson-Reynolds to actually come on and punt on 4th downs helped the latter gain some prominence as well. He naturally must’ve caught the eye of several “bigger” programs that wanted his services for themselves. Maybe someone even coerced him into hitting the portal and coming over. Maybe it’s Michigan and Sherrone Moore. 

James Ferguson-Reynolds could be the answer to Sherrone Moore’s special team woes

247Sports’ Zach Shaw reckons Michigan not pursuing a punter in this transfer portal would be “malpractice.” Shaw said, “There’s only one position where Michigan truly needs to hit the transfer portal, and it’s punter.” Shaw shed light on Hudson Hollenbeck, currently the sole punter on Moore’s roster. “Hudson Hollenbeck held his own in the ReliaQuest Bowl…but Michigan can’t go into a season it wants to contend for a College Football Playoff spot with Hollenbeck as its only punter. The Wolverines are too big of a program to not work behind the scenes to bring a proven starting punter onto its roster for the season, just like it did Dominic Zvada at kicker last season, and James Turner the spring before that,” he said. Could James Ferguson-Reynolds be the answer at Ann Arbor?

Sherrone Moore or anybody at the Wolverines likely has had a look at this development and Ferguson-Reynolds’ decision, albeit it’s pure conjecture and speculation at this moment. But they do have a need at the position, and this guy has more than proven his worth. The G5 to blueblood pipeline is rare, but not unprecedented. Could the Aussie indeed be headed to UMich? There’s certainly a chance. For the player to take this step, you’d think he’s privy to what kind of market there is for him out there. That maize and blue sure is an enticing option if it’s on the cards. From Sherrone Moore’s perspective, he’d be adding one of the top punters going.