​NFL hopeful Charlie Smyth ready to impress the scouts at the Combine this weekend

​The 22-year-old is an Ulster U20 Championship winner for Down as a goalkeeper, but over recent months, he has been training to become a placekicker in American football’s NFL.

Having impressed at Tadhg Leader’s Kicking Academy, Smyth – alongside fellow Irishmen Rory Beggan, Mark Jackson and Darragh Leader – was one of 16 athletes worldwide who was selected to participate in the NFL’s International Player Pathway (IPP) Program.

Over the last three weeks, Smyth has been practicing both kicking and punting in Florida as part of the programme, and on Tuesday, he went viral on social media for converting a kick from 66 yards out – which equals the distance of the record longest ever kick in an NFL game. (Credit to Tadhg Leader @TadhgLeader for the tweet).

What Smyth, and the other players on the programme, have been training for culminates this weekend with the NFL Combine, where scouts from every team will get a chance to look at the prospects and evaluate if they are good enough to make it as a professional.

In an interview with the Newry Reporter last month, Smyth explained why he decided to chase a career in American Football, after attending kicking specialist Tadhg Leader’s academy.

Smyth backed himself to go try a session last year, and having acquitted himself well, he had the confidence to keep at it.

“My first session with Tadhg went well, and then he sent out an email to say that the NFL had opened their pathway for kickers a week or two later,” he said.

“I went to a session in Banbridge and there were four other lads who were at the top of their game, the likes of Rory Beggan and Niall Morgan and although I was considerably younger, I felt as though I was as good as they were.

“Because we kick the ball so many different ways, it wasn't that much of a transition for me. You use the same technique as if you were kicking a Gaelic football, with a bit of backspin. On free kicks I would usually like to curl the ball, so I point my toes to the left. But kicking the NFL ball, your foot has to be dead straight when kicking it, but you have to find the sweet spot.

“That's taken me to where I am now, and I just feel lucky and grateful for the opportunity.”

The Combine for kickers takes place on Sunday March 3, and whilst punting takes place the next day, Monday March 4.

If Smyth impresses, his life could change forever, as the average NFL kicker earns $860,000 per year, and the highest paid kicker, Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens, has a salary of $6,000,000.