EVANSTON, Ill. — The next great college football kicker might not be playing high school football in Texas, California or Florida. He might be playing Gaelic football or rugby in Ireland, having never kicked an American football in his life.
That is the idea behind Ireland's Kicking King, a nationwide competition that will end Nov. 7, when four of Ireland's most promising young kickers compete at halftime of Northwestern's Big Ten game against Iowa at the new $875 million Ryan Field.
The competition, presented by commercial property insurer FM, is designed to find untapped kicking talent in Ireland and give athletes ages 16 to 24 a path to college scholarships and, potentially, NFL careers.
For college football programs, including UCLA and Cal, it could be another way to find the next big leg.
They might not have to look far for an example of what's possible.
On Halloween night, Indiana kicker Paddy McAteer, a product of Leader Kicking Academy in Ireland, made a 60-yard field goal against Minnesota to force overtime. It was one of two field goals of 60 yards or longer in the game, a rarity in college football.
McAteer, who grew up in Mullaghbawn, Northern Ireland, had never kicked an American football until April 2024. Less than three years later, he made one of the most memorable kicks of the Big Ten season.
Which raises the question heading into next weekend's competition at Northwestern: Who will be the next Paddy McAteer?
The search began in August, when more than 1,000 athletes attended 10 free tryouts across Ireland. The top 20 advanced to a showcase at halftime of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic between TCU and North Carolina on Aug. 29 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, where Patrick Gaynor made a 61-yard field goal.
The top 10 kickers then joined an elite training group in Dublin, and the four finalists are now preparing to travel to the Chicago area for the championship.
The competition is the latest effort by brothers Tadhg and Darragh Leader, who founded Leader Kicking to develop Irish athletes into American football specialists.
The academy has helped its athletes earn more than $3 million in college scholarships, and more than 20 of its players are active in NCAA Division I football or the NFL.
One of its most prominent success stories is Charlie Smyth, a former Gaelic football goalkeeper and teacher from Mayobridge, Northern Ireland, who made a 56-yard field goal for the New Orleans Saints on his first NFL attempt on Nov. 30, 2025. It was the longest field goal by an Irish-born player in NFL history.
The program also has strong Southern California ties.
Tadhg Leader learned to kick an American football in San Diego in 2021, an experience that inspired him to start Leader Kicking. The academy still sends athletes to San Diego to train with former NFL kicker John Carney, who played 23 seasons in the league.
Leader Kicking's first athlete to come to the United States, in 2023, nearly signed with Hawaii before choosing Idaho State, which offered a shorter trip home to Ireland.
The academy is now in talks with UCLA and Cal about potential kicking prospects for the 2027 season.
Those conversations reflect a change in how college football recruits specialists. Rather than targeting only traditional kickers who have spent years refining their technique in American football, programs are increasingly interested in athletes with exceptional leg strength, size and raw athleticism.
Ireland has a particularly deep pool because of the popularity of Gaelic football and rugby, sports that demand powerful kicking and the ability to drive a ball long distances. Those skills can translate to field goals, punts and kickoffs, particularly as college programs look for kickers who can consistently produce touchbacks and flip field position.
"Every kicker who walks out at Ryan Field started at a free tryout on a pitch somewhere in Ireland," Tadhg Leader said. "A few months ago, most of them had never kicked an American football. On November 7, their families, their communities, and all of Ireland will be behind them."
The competition has the backing of Ryan Sports Ventures, the sports investment arm of the Ryan family, which was the lead donor for Northwestern's new stadium. The family also holds minority stakes in the Chicago Bears and English soccer club AFC Bournemouth.
Ryan Sports Ventures partnered with Leader Kicking on a program that includes the competition, a feature documentary and a University of Notre Dame study of kicking biomechanics and how kicking talent is identified and developed.
The initiative uses Playermaker foot-mounted sensors and Trackman radar to analyze athletes' movements and ball flight, and competitors wore Oakley Meta glasses during the Dublin showcase to capture first-person footage. The data will feed the Notre Dame study.
"Ireland's Kicking King gives young Irish athletes a real path to a college education in the United States," said Rob Ryan, managing partner of Ryan Sports Ventures. "More than 32 million Americans claim Irish ancestry, and we are proud to be among them. Thanks to our partners at FM, on November 7, four Irish kickers will be showcased in front of an American football audience to show what they can do."
FM, which also sponsors golfer Rory McIlroy, is the presenting partner. Meta, Amazon Web Services and UPMC are additional sponsors.
"At FM, we believe that hard work, resilience and a commitment to constant progress can help people accomplish big things," said Randy Hodge, FM's chief operating officer. "We're proud to support this competition and celebrate the dedication these athletes have shown on their journey to Ryan Field."
The documentary is being produced by Storyman Studio, with distribution led by sports media executive Peter Hutton. Sky Sports will air the film in the United Kingdom and DAZN will distribute it internationally. U.S. and Irish distribution deals are still being finalized.
For Tadhg Leader, the goal goes beyond crowning a champion at Northwestern. He hopes college coaches around the country will start looking seriously at Ireland as a source of scholarship-caliber talent, opening doors for young athletes who might never have considered American football.
McAteer showed how quickly that transition can happen. And with UCLA and Cal already talking with Leader Kicking about future prospects, the next Irish standout could end up on the West Coast.
"The talent was always here; it just needed a road to follow, and all roads lead to Ryan Field," Leader said.