One position Kansas had to come up with an answer in the transfer portal was punter. The starter over the last two years Damon Greaves transferred to Colorado.

That is when the staff zeroed in on Finn Lappin, who was coming off a successful first year playing football in America.

Lappin built a relationship with Kansas special teams analyst Aaron Miller.

“I talked a lot with Coach Miller, and he really helped me through the whole process,” Lappin said. “He’s a great man and I feel like we are building a strong connection. He told me about how great the program is, from all of the staff to the facilities and community of Lawrence.”

Lappin was sold on the Kansas program and did not take an official visit.

“Unfortunately, I was back home in Australia over the holidays so couldn’t make a visit, but the facilities speak for themselves,” he said. “It was pretty crazy to see them through just a phone screen. I’m also looking forward to meeting all the coaches and players.”

Lappin was one of the top punters in the transfer portal. In his first year of college football, he averaged 46.1 yards per punt and broke the school records that were set in 2018 and 1979. He was named to the FCS Freshman All-American team and a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award.

He has a talent you usually do not see in college football, and that is punting with both feet. He punts right footed but last season at McNeese State he used his left on a couple attempts.

“When I was growing up my dad was heavily involved with Australian football, so he taught me to use both feet from a very young age as it’s incredibly useful in ‘footy’”, he said. “It definitely gave me an advantage when I was younger.”

Last season Lappin had 21 punts that were 50 yards or more and three over 60 yards. He also had 19 punts inside the 20-yard line. McNeese State head coach Gary Goff said in an interview Lappin was a valuable special teams player.

“Finn is a real weapon,” said McNeese head coach Gary Goff. “He has had a great season kicking the daylights out of the football. He can flip the field at any time. “He is also a unique character. He is fun to be around.”

Lappin will get to punt at a higher level this year moving to the Big 12. He is looking forward to the opportunity and starting his career at Kansas.

“It’s a dream come true to be playing at the P4 level,” he said. “I remember I first started watching college football back in 2019 with the LSU team and fell in love with the game and the passion fans have. Now to be able to have the opportunity to play at this high level, I’m ecstatic. I can’t wait to settle in at KU and definitely need to get to some basketball games.”