No wonder University of Hawaii football kicker Ryan Meskell never imagined being the recipient of the Mountain West Conference’s specialist of the week award.
Meskell, who was born and reared in Australia, did not play American football until he joined the Rainbow Warriors in July 2017. He still does not feel comfortable wearing a helmet and pads. But after kicking the decisive field goal in the fifth overtime period of UH’s 44-41 victory over San Jose State, Meskell received the league’s weekly award on Monday.
“It was nice to wake up to the news,” Meskell said. “Obviously, the win was the main thing. I’m happy to win player of the week, but I’m still more happy about winning the game of football. I have to thank the boys for keeping us in there in overtime.”
Meskell had missed a point-after kick in the third quarter and was wide left on field-goal attempts in the second and third overtime periods.
“I was lifting my head up too soon,” Meskell said of the OT misses. “I was too eager to see where (the kicks) were going. Stan (Gaudion, the holder) and Noah (Borden, the long-snapper) kept their cool the whole time. They never worried. They kept me confident. They kept providing good snaps and holds.”
Meskell connected on 35-yard field goals to tie it at 41 in the fourth overtime and give UH the lead in the fifth extra period. The Warriors sealed their fifth victory in six games when SJSU kicker Bryce Crawford’s attempt sailed wide right.
“Me and Stan have a little thing we say to each other before we kick,” Meskell said. “I say to him, ‘This is chicken feed,’ as in, like, this is easy. This is easy work.”
After the teams congratulated each other at midfield, Meskell turned and saw teammates joining supporters in the section behind the UH bench.
“That was one of the most amazing feelings I’ve had,” Meskell said. “I looked back and our whole team ran up the grandstand. I didn’t know what was going on. I was excited to get up there and see the fans. I saw some old men crying. I could see how much the win meant to our fans and the state. It was a really good feeling.”
Later, Meskell read the congratulatory texts and tweets from Australia. “It was nice to know people back home in Australia were following our progress,” Meskell said.
Meskell has advanced from the spring of 2017, when he weighed his athletic future after playing soccer at Lewis &Clark Community College in Illinois. He decided to participate in Prokick Australia, a Melbourne-based program that trains Australians in American football. “I took a leap of faith,” said Meskell, who moved from Canberra.
On his first day, Prokick created videos displaying Meskell’s leg strength. A day later, it was arranged for Meskell to join the Warriors as a walk-on.
“They saw the potential, and they took a chance on me,” Meskell said.
Since then, Meskell said, “I’m trying to repay them for the faith they put me in me to give me this great opportunity.”
Meskell has adjusted to everything American except the football equipment.
“I get frustrated every game day putting on the pads and helmet,” he said. “It always takes me longer than all the other boys. I can’t quite figure it out. … I’d love going out to kick wearing my T-shirt and shorts. But I’m definitely a lot more used to it this season than last season. It does have a little restraint on your technique, but ultimately, I’m used to it now. I have to get on with it.”
