Notre Dame football punter James Rendell exhausts eligibility
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SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame football will have a new punter in 2026 after James Rendell’s request for an eligibility waiver was denied by the NCAA.
A source confirmed the 25-year-old Australian has exhausted his eligibility after two seasons punting for the Irish. Rendell punted 75 times for a 42.7-yard average, with just 25 of those efforts coming in 2025.
After a shaky start in 2024, Rendell’s performance improved markedly over the second half of the season, including the College Football Playoff. He continued that improvement in Year 2, boosting his average to 44.6 and downing nine punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard-line.
Just two punts were returned against the Irish this year for a 5.5-yard average as Rendell’s 3.97-second average hang time forced 12 fair catches. He recorded just one touchback in his Irish career, that coming this season against Boise State.
Rendell’s departure leaves rising sophomore Erik Schmidt as the top punting option on the roster. The Milwaukee product went 41-of-42 on extra points but missed all three of his field goal attempts as the fill-in for North Carolina transfer Noah Burnette.
Schmidt also handled kickoffs for much of the year.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Schmidt never punted in a game, but he was ranked as the nation’s top punter in the 2025 recruiting class by Kohl’s Kicking, the nationwide authority on such matters.
Notre Dame didn’t sign any kicking specialists in its 2026 recruiting class but figures to add options, including a punter, once the 15-day transfer portal window opens on Jan. 2.
A former Australian Rules Football player who learned American punting through Prokick Australia, Rendell initially committed to the University of Hawaii before Bryce McFerson’s spring 2024 transfer to Maryland landed the Irish in the market for a punter.
Notre Dame’s 2022 punter was Harvard grad transfer Jon Sot.
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football punter James Rendell moves on after two seasons
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