KERRY NATIVE DAVID Shanahan made his college football debut for Georgia Tech at the Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday during a 21-22 loss against Northern Illinois.
In what was his first-ever competitive game of American football, Shanahan played as a punter, kicking three times for an average of 52.7 yards.
“You’ve seen how much the kicking game has improved,” head coach Geoff Collins said during his post-match press conference.
“I thought Gavin Stewart did a great job kicking off for us in this game. Even David Shanahan, for the first time punting in a college football game, I think he averaged 52 or 53 yards per punt in his first action.
“The kicking game we will continue to work with, there were certain parts that were really good.”
Well done @David_Shanahan_ playing your first game for @GeorgiaTechFB and having an avg. of 52.7 for 3 kicks is very impressive. Tough loss, but plenty of positives #YellowJackets #GTFootball #Punter pic.twitter.com/iTfYSc3NER
— Dave Canty (@Tremdave) September 5, 2021
Shanahan played up to under-17 level with Kerry. In 2019, he went to Melbourne to join an Australian programme called ProKick who identify kicking talent for American colleges. He was subsequently offered an American football scholarship in the US which he accepted last year.
The game ended in a shock loss as Northern Illinois put together a last-gasp 80-yard drive for a touchdown and a two-point conversion with 38 seconds left to capture the victory.
