UCF’s Aussie punter, Atticus Bertrams, gets his kicks with the Knights
UCF punter Atticus Bertrams has always found his greatest joy in sports.
From the moment he first learned to walk, Bertram’s passion for kicking a ball was evident. With a love of soccer, rugby or football, the left-footer has consistently embraced every opportunity to showcase his skills.
It was something that just came naturally to Bertrams, particularly growing up in Sydney, Australia.
“The easiest way to explain it is that Americans grow up throwing a ball to each other while we grow up kicking one,” Bertrams said with a laugh. “I’ve had a ball on my foot since I could walk. Ask my dad, he was sick of it.
“It was just something that came really naturally to me. I then made that transition to punting. It’s just a different shape, so I’ve been able to work it out and it’s going pretty well so far.”
He credits his time at Prokick Australia, a longtime academy that helps develop individuals interested in becoming kickers and punters.
The organization helps secure college scholarships for its participants, including Max Duffy (USFL), Michael Dickson (Seattle Seahawks) and Mitch Wishnowsky (Buffalo Bills), as well as college punters Tom Hackett (Utah), Tom Hornsey (Memphis) and Alex Mastromanno (FSU).
Former UCF punter Mitch McCarthy (2022-24) also attended Prokick Australia.
Bertrams ended up at Wisconsin in 2023, where he averaged 42.8 yards on 155 punts in 37 games for the Badgers. After three seasons and seeking more guidance, he decided to seek a new opportunity and entered the transfer portal.
The 23-year-old senior was not a fan of the process.
“It was terrible, but I’m really, really happy with how it all ended up,” said Bertams. “It was just hectic and it’s uncertain. I like having a plan and when you can’t see two feet in front of you, it can be a bit daunting.”
Bertrams recalled flying back to the U.S. in the offseason, arriving in Dallas after a 17-hour flight, looking to make a connecting flight to Wisconsin, only to get a call from his agent as he stepped off the plane.
“I was not even off the jet bridge and my agent called and said, ‘Don’t get on the plane to Madison. You’re going to Orlando. You’re going to UCF for a visit,'” Bertrams said. “After the visit, I got back to Madison, signed everything and moved out of my apartment and moved my whole life down to Florida in three days.”
Bertrams was sold on the Knights after meeting with special teams coordinator Pete Alamar .
“He’s just a real guru of the specialist world,” said Bertrams. “He’s been around it for so many years and that’s quite rare. I know my time in Wisconsin, it was tough for them to find a coach to help specialists, which is the same in a lot of places, too. It’s just uncommon that you get someone in Alamar’s position that can actually coach a kicker and a punter and a long snapper.
“For a guy in his last year trying to make a run at, you know, doing this longer past college, I couldn’t ask for a better spot.”
“Atticus brings experience. He’s a Big 10 player who has been there, done that,” said Alamar, who was looking to add another punter with the departure of Anthony Venneri, who averaged 40.7 yards on 48 punts last season for the Knights.
The past two national champions, Indiana (2025-26) and Ohio State (2024-25), both featured Australian punters: Mitch McCarthy for the Hoosiers and Joey McGuire for the Buckeyes.
“Both are friends of mine. So I’ve had two friends win national championships,” said Bertrams. “I’ve seen the rings and they’re nice and big and shiny and cool. It’s awesome. We were training together every day for the best part of three years during COVID, back in Australia. It’s pretty surreal. One day, I’ll step back and think about all these memories that I have from training in a shed to kicking in front of 100,000 people. It’s pretty, pretty cool.”
Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com . Sign up for the Sentinel’s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.
