ADAM MCCANN-GIBBS is a cool customer, an articulate and down-to-earth teenager from county Down. Even so, he must be pinching himself.

We are talking in the FAI suite at the Aviva Stadium, looking out on the pitch where he will make his college football debut for the University of North Carolina’s Tar Heels against Texas Christian University’s Horned Frogs (TCU) on 29 August.

Last year, McCann-Gibbs attended the Aer Lingus College Football Classic along with Mark Fitzgerald from the Leader Kicking programme. It was his first live experience of the gridiron game.

Even a couple of years ago, he admits, he wasn’t a big fan of the sport. His focus was on his local club, Glenn, and on playing minor football for Down.

But the 18-year-old’s life is different now and his debut will complete a remarkable rise that has taken him from Gaelic football to playing for a college set-up that has legendary New England Patriots figurehead Bill Belichick as its head coach.

He will also play in front of 100,000 fans at Beaver Stadium later this year.

“As people have been saying, it’s like something out of a movie, that you get to come home and hopefully play your first game here as your debut as well,” McCann-Gibbs said.

He only joined UNC as a punter in January, having come through the successful Leader Kicking programme run by brothers Tadhg and Darragh Leader.

Tadhg had a connection with UNC special teams coordinator Billy Miller, who was impressed by the tape of McCann-Gibbs kicking that was sent his way. A deal was quickly made.

Charlie Smyth’s stunning rise to the NFL with the New Orleans Saints was a huge influence on McCann-Gibbs, not least because the Mayobridge man grew up only minutes away from him and transformed himself from a goalkeeper for Down into a successful NFL punter.

“Charlie being 10 minutes from me, I was like, ‘Why not?’,” he explained. “I thought I’d just try my hand at it.”

A free-taker with Glenn, he gradually adapted to the technical demands of punting an American football, but it wasn’t a quick process.

“To be honest, I wasn’t very good at the start, but I decided to stick at it and work at it,” he said. “Repetition over time has made a big difference. It’s obviously very different kicking an American football because of the shape of it.

“I still feel today that I’m very raw and need to work on stuff, but that’s just going to come over time.”

Alongside Smyth, Armagh native Paddy McAteer is preparing for his final college season with Indiana after transferring from Troy University, while several Tyrone and Derry players are also making progress through the system.

“Yeah, there must be something up north,” McCann-Gibbs laughed.

“There are a few Tyrone and Derry lads impressing as well, so it’s great to see the lads doing really well and excelling over in America. It’s all credit to Leader Kicking.”

McCann-Gibbs recently got the opportunity to spend time with Smyth in March and picked up important advice about adapting to life in the United States and the demands of the sport.

“I don’t know why it hasn’t happened sooner because it’s only really been booming in the last three years or so,” he said.

McCann-Gibbs grew up only a few mile from New Orleans Saints kicker, Charlie Smith. Piaras Ó Mídheach / SPORTSFILE Piaras Ó Mídheach / SPORTSFILE / SPORTSFILE

“That pathway probably wasn’t there for a lot of lads. You’ve seen the Australian guys doing it for years, but Tadhg and Darragh have excelled in what they’re doing.

“Charlie had never played it and nine months later he’s kicking for the Saints, which is incredible.

“It’s similar to my journey. I wouldn’t have known what American football was two years ago. I wouldn’t have been a big fan. So to go from that to a new life, it’s incredible.”

The scale of how much his own life has changed so quickly really hit home last week when he returned for the first time since his New Year move.

Alongside members of the UNC set-up, he visited his former schools on Friday, first stopping at St Mary’s Barr Primary School in Glenn before later heading to Abbey CBS in Newry.

“The support the community is giving, they’re really getting behind me, buying tickets for the game at the Aviva and making posters,” McCann-Gibbs said. “It’s incredible to see your community doing that for you.

“I have little cousins at the primary school and they were getting photos with all the lads. It’s incredible that you get the opportunity to put your hometown and Ireland on a global stage.

“You feel an immense sense of pride doing that. It’s been a nice wee break because your life is a million miles an hour over there. It’s nice to look back and debrief on what’s happened. It definitely has hit home.”

Family support has also been central throughout the whirlwind move to America. He describes his mother, Cheryl, as his “rock”, while his father James, sister Ellie and twin brother Mark have provided crucial support.

“My brother was always the one who liked baseball and basketball, so he’s all for this,” McCann-Gibbs smiled.

“They came over and it was great to show Mark around the place. He loved it and thinks it’s incredible. They know this is a great opportunity to really go for it.”