MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Four years ago, West Virginia’s top-rated passer didn’t know how to throw a football. Or even how to hold one.
Australian punter Josh Growden has a 158.8 quarterback rating after completing the lone pass of his college career, a successful fake punt throw to Dante Bonamico that gained 7 yards and a first down at Oklahoma.
When Growden arrived in the United States in 2015 to punt at LSU, the only type of ball he had ever thrown in a forward motion was a cricket ball. Passing is not permitted in Australian Rules football, which was his primary sport growing up.