Isaac Pearson's decision to trial the Prokick program three years ago has paid off with the former Cardiff Hawks and Lake Macquarie Dockers player now following in the footsteps of Australian NFL punter Michael Dickson by joining the Texas Longhorns.
Pearson, 22 of Carey Bay, made an official announcement over the weekend after a journey that saw him relocate to Melbourne and give up Aussie rules to concentrate soley on American football at the start of 2019.
The Sydney Swans junior representative said it was a "dream come true" heading to renowned gridiron institution the University of Texas where fellow countymen Dickson and current starting punter Ryan Bujcevski have also plied their trade.
"I started training with Prokick in Melbourne around three years ago," Pearson told the Newcastle Herald.
I'd fly down every six months whenever I could save up enough money and get time off work for a long weekend."
Isaac Pearson
"I'd fly down every six months whenever I could save up enough money and get time off work for a long weekend.
"At the start of 2019 I joined full-time after I finished my apprenticeship with [mining company] Glencore as a plant mechanic.
"This is a dream come true."
Pearson toured the US with Prokick in mid-2018, going to the states of Kentucky and Tennessee as well as the cities of Pittsburgh and New Orleans. He knew that he wanted to return one day.
"I remember thinking this is as good as it gets," Pearson said. "I just wanted to work hard and get over there."
He had to refine his previous skill set.
"It's kind of like a golf swing," he said.
"For the 10 bad ones you hit one flush and it's enough to bring you back. It took a long time but I'm happy with the results."
Pearson has been back in the Hunter since the start of April and hopes to land in America early next year once he earns enough credits studying psychology at the University of Newcastle.
The upcoming US college campaign, which normally starts around September, remains in limbo because of the COVID-19 outbreak but the University of Texas released a statement last week saying "we remain optimistic and are continuing to plan for football this season."
Former City AFL player Mitch Crawford is now at Michigan State University after two seasons with University of Texas at El Paso while fellow Novocastrian Lucas Borrow recently signed for Indiana's Ball State University.
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