Ansell, who took up gridiron punting after watching the 2020 Super Bowl, has received a full scholarship to Purdue University in Indiana.

"Overall, on average, it's about a $250,000-300,000 scholarship so very grateful for the opportunity given to me by Purdue," he said.

The Boilermakers play in the NCAA's Big Ten Conference.

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Ansell confirmed he is the first Australian to play football for the more-than-a-century old university and said he may even be the first Aussie to play any sport for the school.

The 23-year-old's tale of being selected for one of the top college football programs is mind-blowing.

But when you meet him, it's little surprise he's propelled himself into that position in a year.

Physically, with his strong upper body and legs, the tall athlete looks ready to get on an American football field.

You immediately realise how much effort he has put in. And when he says he's always had the philosophy "if I'm going to do something I want to be the best at it", you know he means it.

Ansell's determination stood out to his Prokick Geelong coach Tom Hornsey, a former punter with the Memphis Tigers who had pre-seasons with NFL club Dallas Cowboys.

"He's a great student, he's very dedicated and very driven," he said. "You get that from his personality. His work ethic on his craft and skill is second-to-none.

"That gave him the leg up to be in the position he is now."

It was a surreal phone call for Ansell when he was told he had earned the scholarship.

"It was an emotional, overwhelming moment for me - you go and set your mind to something and then you achieve it and all of a sudden the world's at your feet and it's actually happening," he said.

"It was a very important moment for me and my family.

"It's really important for me I do something like this with my life and continue the legacy for myself that I wanted and I know my old man wanted as well and really do something good."

Ansell's father Matt, who was a prominent figure in the south-west sport's community, passed away in 2016.

"We shared sports, that was probably our greatest bonding point from when I was a young kid, he taught me how to kick a footy and how to bowl a cricket ball...it's great for me to look back on those things and know I've achieved what I set out to do," he said.

"It's important for me because we bonded so much over sports so to then achieve the status of playing elite sport - I mean that's the dream.

"He's inspired me so much to go out and do this and do something a bit different and now I've achieved that and am moving into that environment, it means the world."

While gridiron is where he's landed, Ansell has also been successful in athletics.

He won the long jump and triple jump at the School Sport Victoria championships during his year 12 and competed at nationals.

Despite being raw in the beginning, he participated in proper training once he realised he had ability.

Many would be surprised to know he hasn't played much Aussie Rules.

Ansell played under 12s and under 14s with Russells Creek in the Warrnambool and District league.

Cricket with Creek in the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association was his main sport, besides athletics, through his teens.

Ansell thinks his lack of time with a Sherrin is a blessing in disguise.

"Not having that football background has helped me a little bit because in the transition between kicking an Aussie Rules footy and being a punter, there are some mechanical bad habits that AFL players traditionally have," he said.

"I guess I was lucky I didn't walk in with those bad habits.

"For a punter it's more so flighting the ball out of your hand and letting your leg come up and guide it instead of putting it down onto your boot."

So how does a youngster from Warrnambool watch the Super Bowl and less than a year later get a scholarship to a highly-regarded US college?

"I went out and bought a gridiron ball and thought I'd give myself some preparation before getting into a full-on session with Prokick," he said.

Within three months he was training full-time with Prokick in Melbourne, a program which teaches keen Aussies how to punt at college and NFL standard.

Prokick, which started in 2007, set up a Geelong base in July 2020 which made training more convenient for Ansell - he now lives in Geelong.

He's been training with coach Hornsey and they've had to navigate the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

"It's been a bit green light, red light but that's all right," Ansell said. "We're very lucky we live in the age of social media and phones and FaceTime."

The Boilermakers recruit said at times he would send videos of himself punting and get feedback.

"Being in Geelong, not Melbourne, has been fantastic because we weren't so shutdown for the majority of the year," he added.

Ansell praised Hornsey, saying he had been instrumental in his development.

Ansell explained the process of getting a scholarship started with US coaches contacting Prokick with what they were looking for.

He said Prokick then sends footage of its punters and college coaches make selection decisions.

"The (Purdue) coach reached out to me on Twitter and we got a relationship started that way and started talking," Ansell said.

"I had a tour of the facilities on FaceTime and then got offered the full scholarship."

Ansell is flying to Indiana in May to start a marketing degree.

He'll get the chance to be reunited with his American girlfriend Ally, who he hasn't seen in nearly 12 months.

They met at Camp America two years ago. He has a gruelling football summer camp through June and July before the season kicks off in September.

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