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The University of Utah Athletics
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Camp Kyle 2024: Jack Bouwmeester Q&A
8/3/2024 8:30 AM | Football
SALT LAKE CITY - Week One of Fall camp is in the books for the Utah Football program. Throughout camp, UtahUtes.com will catch-up with returners, newcomers and coaches to find out what the Utes are talking about this fall.
Punter Jack Bouwmeester enters his third season with the Utes as a Preseason All-Big 12 selection, along with a nod on the Ray Guy Award Watch List. The native of Australia enjoyed tremendous strides as a sophomore in 2023, ranking 16th in the country with an average of 45.5 yards per punt. Perhaps his most notable year-to-year leap came in the form of 19 punts to sail 50-yards or more. It came after Bouwmeester had just one such punt in 2022, and was the most by a Ute since 2018--fellow Australian Mitch Wishnowsky had 20 that year.
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Q: How's it feel to have the season right around the corner?
A: "I'm very excited. It's my third year, so I feel like a veteran now. I'm most excited about the team we've got entering a new league, some of the games we get to play this year and some of the places we get to travel to. It's going to be a real fun year. Everyone's fired up and has been working hard."
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Q: How have you grown as a person and as a player over your years at the U?
A: "My first year was a bit of a shellshock, moving from Australia and learning a new system. Going from year one to year two gave me a boost of confidence. I learned more of the system and got my feet on the field a little more as well—that helped. Hopefully going from year to year three, continue to gain more confidence and take that next step. We'll see what happens."
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Q: Outside of football, what should people know about Australia and you growing up there?
A: "A very prestigious line of punters have come from Australia and it's an honor to even be mentioned in that breath. The culture of Australia is very laid back and I think that's helped me in coming to Utah. I can find some similarities and differences between the two. There's a lot of laid back people in Utah, too. But when you need to get revved up, you get revved up. It's been good learning both cultures, and it should hold me in good stead going forward."
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Q: What do you do on a Saturday in Bendigo, your hometown in Australia?
A: "It depends! If it's Winter, there's Aussie rules football. If it's Summer, you go and watch cricket. There's always stuff to do. It's very sport-oriented. Especially when I grew up, everything was about sport for me. So being in this environment at Utah is a bit of a dream, honestly. I've always wanted to play sport. At first, it was going to be Aussie rules, then cricket and it ended up being American football. Definitely didn't plan for it to go this way, but I absolutely love every day in here and love working hard with everyone."
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Q: What is the one Australian dish that everyone on the team has to eat at some point?
A: "Thomas Yassmin's girlfriend cooks a magnificent pavlova. It's unbelievable. It's a desert—we had it on Christmas when I spent the holiday with them. If I could replicate that, I definitely would."
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Punter Jack Bouwmeester enters his third season with the Utes as a Preseason All-Big 12 selection, along with a nod on the Ray Guy Award Watch List. The native of Australia enjoyed tremendous strides as a sophomore in 2023, ranking 16th in the country with an average of 45.5 yards per punt. Perhaps his most notable year-to-year leap came in the form of 19 punts to sail 50-yards or more. It came after Bouwmeester had just one such punt in 2022, and was the most by a Ute since 2018--fellow Australian Mitch Wishnowsky had 20 that year.
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.@jackbouwie has been named to the 2024 Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List.
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) August 2, 2024
??: https://t.co/O9RFjUqUNk#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/aWLqRz3cvB
Q: How's it feel to have the season right around the corner?
A: "I'm very excited. It's my third year, so I feel like a veteran now. I'm most excited about the team we've got entering a new league, some of the games we get to play this year and some of the places we get to travel to. It's going to be a real fun year. Everyone's fired up and has been working hard."
Â
Q: How have you grown as a person and as a player over your years at the U?
A: "My first year was a bit of a shellshock, moving from Australia and learning a new system. Going from year one to year two gave me a boost of confidence. I learned more of the system and got my feet on the field a little more as well—that helped. Hopefully going from year to year three, continue to gain more confidence and take that next step. We'll see what happens."
Â
Q: Outside of football, what should people know about Australia and you growing up there?
A: "A very prestigious line of punters have come from Australia and it's an honor to even be mentioned in that breath. The culture of Australia is very laid back and I think that's helped me in coming to Utah. I can find some similarities and differences between the two. There's a lot of laid back people in Utah, too. But when you need to get revved up, you get revved up. It's been good learning both cultures, and it should hold me in good stead going forward."
Â
Q: What do you do on a Saturday in Bendigo, your hometown in Australia?
A: "It depends! If it's Winter, there's Aussie rules football. If it's Summer, you go and watch cricket. There's always stuff to do. It's very sport-oriented. Especially when I grew up, everything was about sport for me. So being in this environment at Utah is a bit of a dream, honestly. I've always wanted to play sport. At first, it was going to be Aussie rules, then cricket and it ended up being American football. Definitely didn't plan for it to go this way, but I absolutely love every day in here and love working hard with everyone."
Â
Q: What is the one Australian dish that everyone on the team has to eat at some point?
A: "Thomas Yassmin's girlfriend cooks a magnificent pavlova. It's unbelievable. It's a desert—we had it on Christmas when I spent the holiday with them. If I could replicate that, I definitely would."
Â
Sorry the mic wouldn't stay on, @jackbouwie ?? pic.twitter.com/2mB0Rtn2CN
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) April 13, 2024
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