Life as a college football player requires tremendous sacrifice, from early morning workouts to the demanding balance between academic and athletic responsibilities that leaves little in the way of free time.
Some athletes carry a heavier burden than others.
Archie Wilson is a freshman punter at Nebraska who joined the program over the summer. To play for the Cornhuskers, he left his home in Australia and traveled halfway across the globe.
It has been a difficult adjustment mentally and emotionally for Wilson, who expressed some understandable feelings of homesickness when asked about it this week while fighting through tears.
“I love (my family) a lot,” Wilson said during a news conference during Nebraska’s fall training camp. “I’ve got two little brothers and a mom and dad. That’s the tough part about being here. I love them a lot and I miss them. But they know this is what’s best for me.”
The clip of Wilson received widespread attention on social media, with many people empathizing with him and the pain he has carried.
Though Wilson is new to college football, he played Australian rules football at Haileybury College as a full-back. More notably, he was trained by the Prokick Australia program, which has produced eight Ray Guy Award winners and 29 players that have earned NFL or CFL contracts.
He’s one of two punters on Nebraska’s roster.
For all he has shouldered since leaving home, Wilson will get some much-needed relief later this month. When the Huskers open their 2025 season on August 28 against Cincinnati at Arrowhead Stadium, there will be some familiar faces in the crowd cheering him on.
“It’s good I can still talk to them plenty over the phone and they’re coming in to see the first few games, so I’m looking forward to that,” he said.