TAMPA, Fla. — Football coaches aren't supposed to play favorites, but USF head coach Alex Golesh is making a rare exception this season.
"Andrew Stokes is legitimately probably my favorite person on this football team," Golesh said after Tuesday's workout.
"I can definitely see that," Stokes responded without hesitation. "It’s probably just because we’re closest in age."
Golesh is 40. Stokes turns 31 in December.
"He’s 30," Golesh paused. "He’s older than most of your young coaches, most of our graduate assistants and analysts."
Stokes, a native of Perth, Australia, played seven years of Australian Rules Football before joining ProKick Australia. ProKick has a long history of training Aussie Rules players to become punters and kickers at American Universities and, eventually, the NFL.
Now a senior, Stokes has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to making jokes about his age.
"I don’t really take myself too seriously. I probably make more old jokes about myself than any of the other guys. So, it just takes away their joy. They can’t do it [haha]," Stokes said with a smile. "It makes the guys happy when they get to joke about it. It makes me happy. Even the coaches joke about it as well."
There's nothing wrong with having fun at practice, but Golesh said his starting punter is all business when it's time to work.
"Just his mental approach to the game, he's phenomenal," Golesh added. "He just brings a mature approach. Not just the specialist room but our special teams unit it in general."
Stokes admits that special teams practice isn't all business.
"I’ll be out there lining up to punt. He’ll come up and say something in my ear just to try and throw me off," he recalled. "But it’s all in good fun. I think that, not just for me, but much the whole team really creates that fun environment and allows you to enjoy football. And you’re going to get the best out of yourself from that."
Stokes said it was a tough decision to leave his hometown, which sits on the southwest coast of Australia, but he has zero regrets about starting a new chapter in his life.
"For me, it was an awesome opportunity to get to go to another country and play a high-level sport and just have a unique experience that none of my friends back home would have," he explained. "It’s extremely worth it. You’re getting an education. You’re getting a new experience that you won’t regret."
His teammates better get their jokes in now because this is Stokes' last season of eligibility.
"They can only do it for six more months- because then I’ll be graduating."
Stokes' mother and uncle saw him play a few games when they visited last season. He said his parents will make another trip to watch him this season, even though his mother might need a little help understanding some of the details of American football.
Andrew averaged 41 yards per punt last season, including 24 inside the 20-yard line and zero touchbacks.
USF opens the regular season next Saturday when they host Bethune-Cookman at 7 p.m. at Raymond James Stadium.
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