Published Oct 10, 2023
Chapman thriving in final season. But no Outback, please
circle avatar
Brian Stultz  •  AuburnSports
Staff Writer
Twitter
@brianjstultz

Oscar Chapman wants to be clear: no, he's never been to an Outback Steakhouse.

So when a friend from the Land Down Under came to Auburn last month for the UMass game, the punter decided to treat him to what makes the South so good: food.

"Some meats and some green beans and all the good stuff," Chapman said.

It's part of introducing his friends from back home to the college football experience foreign to Aussies. While his family has made trips to the US to see him play, this was his first friend who had been able to make the trip. So, what did his friend think of Jordan-Hare Stadium?

"He said it was the best experience he'd ever been to watching us play and seeing the eagle fly and all the stuff going on," Chapman said.

As far as describing what it's like to actually play in hostile environments where, when lining up for a punt, Chapman says he can feel his head vibrating, he says there is no possible way to portray the feeling, but he tried to put it in words.

"Just imagine putting your head up against a speaker and letting it vibrate; that’s the best way I can describe being out there," he said. "It’s just insane."

Chapman kept calm in a distressing situation three weeks ago at Texas A&M and used his past playing Australian rules football to his advantage. A snap flew over his head, but the senior didn't panic. Instead, he grabbed the ball, got the punt off, and it helped pin the Aggies deep in their territory.

What was going through his head during that tense moment?

"I’m good enough to go run around, pick the ball up," Chapman said. "But it was more of, do I have enough time to actually do it. Luckily, they were in punt safe, so I had plenty of time to pick it up and make a good enough decision to kick it down to the other end."

As for his college experience, Chapman is starting to feel nostalgic about his final season, knowing it will be the last time he plays rivals Georgia and Alabama. He says he is soaking in each moment while looking forward to playing against LSU in Tiger Stadium this Saturday.

Oh, and about that little award he won following an impressive game against Georgia? The Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week last week credited his teammates.

"They helped me a lot," Chapman said. "Going down and covered a lot. Got a lot of balls landing inside the 10-yard line, which is a big goal for me. It was just really good to see that we got to that point, and we continued from there. That’s the goal for the rest of the season is to do that weekly."

If he wins that honor again, just don't expect him to celebrate at Outback.

"I don’t think it’s real Australian food," Chapman said. "I think they just put a little accent to it and say, 'Yeah, it’s Australian.'"