By R.L. Bynum

CHAPEL HILL — The ball left Tom Maginness’ foot on his rugby-style punt on a rainy night in Charlotte after a three-and-out deep in UNC territory, soaring 55 yards.

It was the kind of punt, the 10th of his career that went at least 50 yards, that Bill Belichick loves — a play that flips the field and makes it easier for his defense. The legendary coach has built a strong special teams identity, and that includes his senior punter from Melbourne, Australia.

Maginness admitted during a Tuesday press conference at the Kenan Football Center that he never thought he’d play for Belichick.

“Oh, of course not,” Maginness said. “It’s pretty surreal. I think I’m not the only one who was pretty shell-shocked when he first walked in the door. But he’s such a good coach. He’s such a football mind, and he just thinks of absolutely everything — stuff that I don’t even think of. He’s been really great to have around.”

Belichick’s move to Chapel Hill may have been one of the wildest offseason twists in college football, but it’s been a gift to players like Maginness. The Australian senior punter has been a mainstay for the Tar Heels since 2023, although his numbers have been near the bottom of the ACC.

He has steadily improved his average from 39.8 yards per punt as a sophomore to 41.1 (15th in the ACC) as a junior. Two games into 2025, he’s sitting at 40.8 (12th) — but numbers tell only half the story.

Of all the experiences in 29 years as an NFL head coach, Belichick had never coached a rugby-style kicker until this season.

“Tom’s been an interesting guy for me,” Belichick said. “He can obviously punt conventionally. We saw that last year on tape. But in talking to him and in his skills as an Aussie punter, they’re really good, and so we wanted to take advantage and utilize those.”

Maginness learned that skill set at ProKick Australia, a program that has turned dozens of rugby players into NCAA and NFL specialists. He says that ProKick taught him everything about the different ways to kick.

“I really pride myself for my spiral, my conventional, and I’d love to show that off a bit more,” he said. “It’s such a good weapon if you’re really good at both. They don’t know if you’re rolling right, they don’t know if you’re spiraling left. If I can show in practice and in games that I can do both, that’s another really valuable weapon on the team.”

Belichick has embraced that philosophy, tweaking UNC’s punting scheme to take full advantage of Maginness’ versatility.

“We have adapted our punting system to him, which has actually been good,” Belichick said. “He’s done a great job. We’ve covered well, haven’t had a lot of return yards, and sort of been able to handle the field position there when we’ve operated it cleanly like we want to.”

That partnership has paid off. Through two games, only one of eight punts has been returned, that one a five-yard return on the 55-yard boot.

He is as focused on soaking in his last college season as he is on flipping field position.

“In a few months, I’ll be in an office back at home, so I’ve got to really enjoy it,” Maginness said. “And that’s been my mindset this year — have fun, be confident. It doesn’t last forever. Wherever it takes me, it takes me.”

Part of that enjoyment is off the field. After three years of a long-distance relationship, his fiancée, Klaudia, was set to join him in Chapel Hill on Wednesday and be here for the season.

The locker room has been another source of joy that he says is “pretty cool.”

Belichick has made sure his specialists are prepared for anything.

“Practice is set up harder than it is in the game, which is a good thing,” Maginness said. “[In] practice, they give you the hardest looks, the best rushes. I know that when I can go out on Saturday, I see a five-, six-man rush, I know what I’ve got to do. He thinks of every situation. I know when I go out there on Saturday, I’ve faced everything that I’m going to face. It’s not a surprise.”

Belichick nodded to that same preparation when discussing Maginness’ development.

“We’ve adjusted a couple of things with him in terms of his blocking, things like that, that maybe are a little bit different than what he’s done in the past,” Belichick said. “And he’s done a great job on that, too.”

For Maginness, the numbers might not fully capture what this season means. It’s about the final ride, the final punts, and maybe one last perfect spiral that pins an opponent inside their five-yard line — the kind of play that starts with a clean snap, a perfect drop, and ends with the Tar Heel sideline going wild.

“Ten, eleven games left, and I’m done here,” Maginness said. “So, I’ve got to really enjoy it. This is my last go. I’m just going to give everything to Carolina.”

Maginness punting statistics

Season	Games	Punts	Yards	Average
2023	8	33	1,313	39.8
2024	13	51	2,097	41.1
2025	2	12	489	40.8
Career	23	96	3,899	40.6

Month/ date	Score/ time	Opponent	Record/ TV
September
1	L, 48–14	vs. TCU	0–1
6	W, 20–3	at Charlotte	1–1
13	W, 41–6	vs. Richmond	2–1
20	L, 34–9	at UCF	2–2
October
4	L, 38–10	vs. Clemson	2–3, 0–1 ACC
17 (Fri.)	L, 21–18	at California	2–4, 0–2
25	L, 17–16, OT	vs. No. 16 Virginia	2–5, 0–3
31 (Fri.)	W, 27–10	at Syracuse	3–5, 1–3
November
8	W, 20–15	vs. Stanford	4–5, 2–3
15	L, 28–12	at Wake Forest	4–6, 2–4
22	L, 32–25	vs. Duke	4–7, 2–5
29	L, 42–19	at N.C. State	4–8, 2–6