Australian punter James Rendell has committed to Notre Dame football, multiple sources told Blue & Gold’s Mike Singer. He is a graduate transfer and will be a scholarship player in the class of 2024.

Rendell, 23, has up to three years of eligibility remaining, according to a source. He’s a 6-foot-6, 225-pound semi-pro Australian rules football player who had previously committed to Hawai’i in early April. His nickname, according to Star Advertiser Hawai’i reporter Stephen Tsai, is “Thor.”

Playing for Frankston Football Club in Frankston, Victoria, Australia, Rendell participated in nine games in his first season before it ended prematurely due to injury.

“The 21-year-old mainly played as a second ruckman/forward last season as he grew into his frame, but twice played the lead ruck role aptly, gathering over 30 hitouts on both occasions,” Frankston’s website said.

Rendell is the son of legendary Australian rules football player Matt Rendell, who sadly passed away at the age of 64 in June 2023. Matt Rendell scored 147 goals in 256 games from 1977-1992 for West Torrens, Fitzroy and the Brisbane Bears. James Rendell played his father’s position of Ruckman.

Notre Dame needed a punter after junior Bryce McFerson entered the transfer portal, leaving only 30-year-old graduate walk-on Eric Goins and senior walk-on Chris Salerno as the only punters on the roster. McFerson committed to Maryland Wednesday evening.

Irish head coach Marcus Freeman confirmed after the Blue-Gold Game on April 20 that the Irish planned to bring in a punter to replace McFerson.

On Monday, Blue & Gold’s Mike Singer reported that Notre Dame special teams coordinator Marty Biagi traveled to Australia to inquire about punting prospects. He found one and secured a commitment two days later.

Biagi recruited and coached two Australian punters at his previous stops: Jack Ansell with Purdue and Fraser Masin with Ole Miss. Ansell averaged 38.3 yards per punt on 44 punts in 2021 under Biagi, while Masin averaged 42.1 yards per punt in 2022.

Both retained their starting jobs after Biagi left, and Masin is set to remain Ole Miss’ primary punter in 2024.

Aussie Rules players have dominated college punting in recent years, from Texas’ Michael Dixon and Utah’s Mitch Wishnowky to more recently Iowa’s Tory Taylor. The Chicago Bears selected Taylor in the fourth round (No. 122 overall) in this past weekend’s NFL Draft.

Rendell’s addition puts Notre Dame at 88 scholarship players, and they need to get that number down to 85 by the start of fall camp. With the transfer portal window closed for both graduate and undergraduate players, three members of the Irish must either drop to walk-on status or leave football entirely, at least until the next transfer portal window opens in late November.