Michael Dickson (American football)

Michael Dickson (born 4 January 1996) is an Australian professional American football punter for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas.

Early life
Born in Sydney, Dickson first played soccer in his youth before switching to Australian rules football at the age of 12. He excelled in Australian football while playing for the University of New South Wales in the local Sydney AFL competition and was subsequently placed in the Sydney Swans talent academy as a teenager. He continued to play for UNSW and the Swans reserves in the North East Australian Football League in an attempt to be drafted to a professional AFL team but was overlooked at the 2014 AFL draft. Dickson's Australian football career highlight occurred when he was chosen to play for the Swans in the 2014 NEAFL Grand Final. The Swans were defeated by a minor two-point margin in the final.

In 2015, at the age of 19, he moved to Melbourne to trial with Prokick Australia, a coaching program designed to help aspiring kickers and punters cross the Pacific and crack American football. Through his Prokick Australia experience, he was picked up by the University of Texas as a punter.

College career
In his first season with the Longhorns, Dickson had 77 punts for 3,179 net yards for a 41.3 average in 2015. In the 2016 season, he had 65 punts for 3,079 net yards for a 47.4 average. In 2017, Dickson won the Ray Guy Award and was a unanimous All-American. Dickson was named MVP of the 2017 Texas Bowl. In his junior season, he had 84 punts for 3,984 net yards for a 47.4 average. In late December 2017, it was announced that Dickson would forgo his senior year at Texas in favor of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Professional career
Dickson was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round, 149th overall, of the 2018 NFL Draft. Dickson won the punting job after the Seahawks released longtime veteran Jon Ryan.

He made his NFL debut in the Seahawks' season opener against the Denver Broncos. In the 27–24 loss, he had six punts for 354 net yards.

Dickson was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in Week 8 against the Detroit Lions. With minutes remaining at fourth-and-8 from their own three-yard line, Dickson was instructed to waste time in the end zone before giving up an intentional safety. Instead, he received the snap and ran it nine yards for the first down to seal the win. The play was later dubbed "The Aussie Sweep." Dickson was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November 2018.

In addition to punting, Dickson has used the previously obscure drop kick maneuver on kickoffs, both onside and the standard deep kick for the Seahawks. In the 2018 season, including the playoffs Dickson punted 80 times for 3,759 yards, averaging 48.2 yards per punt, the second highest in the league.

Dickson was voted into the 2019 Pro Bowl, the first rookie punter since Dale Hatcher in 1985. In addition, Dickson was named as a first-team All-Pro.