From the Lnd Down Under to the NFL, Arryn Siposs is headed to the Detroit Lions.
The 27-year-old rookie from Victoria, Australia, was signed as an undrafted free agent. He will compete for the starting punting job, after the Lions' former punter Sam Martin signed with the Denver Broncos.
Siposs began his journey to the National Football League as a forward, or primary goal-kicker, in the Australian Football League. He played five years in the league, from 2010-15, and was named an AFL Rising Star in 2012.
After three shoulder surgeries and an ended AFL career, Siposs began his conversion to American rules football. Training with Pro Kick Australia, a premiere institution for training Australian athletes for careers in the NCAA and NFL, Siposs found his new game. In 2018, the Aussie received an offer from Auburn to punt.
Before the 2018 season, Siposs was competing with incumbent punter Aidan Marshall and received an All-American honorable mention from Pro Football Focus.
Though Siposs did not win the starting job for the first game of the year against Washington, he became the starter in the second game against Alabama State and started through the end of the season. His 44.2 yards per kick landed him in the top 20 for all punters.
Before the 2019 season, Siposs was named to the preseason All-American second team by Pro Football Focus, averaging 43.8 yards per kick during the year.
His most memorable moment as a Tiger may not be him as a punter, but as him lining up as a receiver against Alabama. On the second-to-last play in the 2019 Iron Bowl, head coach Gus Malzahn sent Siposs out wide as a receiver against the Tide punt return unit. Confusion ensued and Alabama ended up drawing a penalty, giving Auburn a first down that sealed the 48-45 win.
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