Former Mississippi State punter Nathan Tiyce is transferring to Penn State football, per Sean Fitz of On3. He has three years of eligibility remaining.

Tiyce, hailing from Gerringong, Australia, yields an unconventional path to college football. After spending two years at Tocal College in New South Wales, five years working on a farm, and playing Australian rugby in his hometown, he got into American football via scrolling Instagram while recovering from an injury and finding out about a player who was drafted into the NFL at age 30 from a program called “Prokick Australia.”

After joining the program and kicking an NFL football for the first time in late 2023, he earned a scholarship at Mississippi State and enrolled on Christmas Eve 2024. As a true freshman, the 6’5″, 230-pounder split time with starter Ethan Pulliam, making 12 punts in nine games with an average of 39 yards per punt with a season-long of 54 yards and seven downed inside the 20-yard line.

Tiyce will look to follow in the footsteps of the graduating Riley Thompson, another Australian punter who started at Penn State. With Thompson and Gabe Nwosu both graduating, Penn State will look to either Tiyce or true freshman Lucas Tenbrock to be the team’s primary punter in 2026.