Eddie McGuire’s son Joe takes a big step in his quest to become a football star, but he’s NOT playing Aussie Rules
- The son of the former Magpies boss could play in front of 100,000 fans
- Joe has already proven to be a very handy cricketer
- Congratulations won after taking a big step in your career last month
Eddie McGuire’s son Joe could soon be kicking a ball in front of 100,000 diehard football fans, but he won’t be playing the sport that made his father a household name.
Instead of Aussie Rules, the talented sportsman has secured a spot as a punter at Ohio State University – one of America’s leading college gridiron teams with eight national championships to their credit.
Known as the Buckeyes, the team plays out of Ohio Stadium, which beats the MCG in size and seats nearly 103,000 fans.
McGuire, listed by the team as 6’11” and 240′ (106 kg), was brought on board in July to back up compatriot Jesse Mirco and is next in line to play when the Buckeyes face Youngstown State on Saturday.
Joe McGuire (pictured with dad Eddie in 2019) could soon be playing football in front of over 100,000 fans
McGuire (pictured) was picked up as a gambler by the Ohio State Buckeyes, one of the leading teams in American college football
News of his making the roster was greeted with warm congratulations from Prokick Australia, which helps Aussies break into the NFL and college football with a highly successful program that has been running since 2007.
Joe – who was previously seen on the red carpet with his famous father, mother Carla and brother Alexander – was often photographed in the Collingwood strip attending games with Eddie as a little boy.
Since then he has proven to be very handy in one of Australia’s favorite sports.
In February last year, he made headlines in Melbourne after taking a hat-trick with his last three deliveries playing for Heatherhill Cricket Club, finishing with figures of five wickets for just 10 runs.
As a sign of his interest in gridiron, McGuire told the team that he would not be available for the following weekend’s game because he was in California to watch the Super Bowl.
McGuire was brought into the team by AFL legend Dermott Brereton, who joked about leaving his privileged environment to play at the team’s home ground in the infamous Melbourne suburb of Frankston.
“Young Joe is the first Heatherill cricketer to ever arrive at the game and grab an Uber from Toorak to Baxter No.7. We thought Ed would send the chopper, but no, he’s got an Uber,” Brereton said, before calling McGuire a “damn good bowler.”
Despite being with the AFL since a very young age with his famous father (pictured), Joe has taken his kicking skills far away from Collingwood
McGuire also proved himself to be a very handy cricketer when he hit a hat-trick after being recruited by footy legend Dermott Brereton.
“He was about to run into a bowl and someone on Sages Road decided to pull down the street pretty quickly, got into a sideways action and there was a huge skidding noise – and young Joe said, ‘What’s that ?”
‘I said ‘Sorry mate, you won’t be used to those noises around Georges Road, Toorak’.
“But he loves it, he had fun with the boys and they really liked him because he’s such a nice young man.
“I can’t speak highly enough of him and he bowled pretty well without claiming a scalp.”
If Prokick’s success with other Aussies is any guide, McGuire has a good chance to make a success of his career in the United States.
The organization prides itself on helping 190 athletes to highly valued full scholarships to U.S. colleges, with six of its graduates winning the Ray Guy Award for college gambler of the year and 15 of their kickers scoring contracts in the NFL or the Canadian CFL.