Gaelic football to NFL: Northern Ireland's Jude McAtamney ready for debut
The 24-year-old McAtamney only arrived in the United States in 2021 after years of playing Gaelic football in the Northern Irish region of Londonderry.
When McAtamney stumbled upon the story of Irish punter David Shanahan on Twitter, who was offered a scholarship from Georgia Tech University, McAtamney began chasing his new dream: to reach the top of the American football mountain.
McAtamney bought equipment through eBay and began working on his field goals at his local Gaelic football field. He then sent the recordings of these workouts to Shanahan, who joined McAtamney for a fortnight of training in Serbia in the winter of 2021.
Through Division II school Chowan University, McAtamney eventually joined Rutgers.
Giants' confidence
Before the 2024 NFL Draft, the Northern Irishman was only invited by the New York Giants to show what he has to offer.
Ten out of 10 hit field goals were enough to impress, but despite this, McAtamney was not drafted.
Through the NFL's International Pathway Program, he still got a spot with the Giants, who placed McAtamney on the practice squad. On Saturday, 2nd November, he was transferred to the game squad due to Greg Joseph's injury.
