MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Sometimes you have to be agile enough to handle what life deals you.
 
For West Virginia University senior punter Josh Growden, that meant doing a complete 180 after deciding to bypass his fifth year at LSU and pursue a career in Australian Rules Football in his native Australia.
 
But Growden got a call from his punting coach back home telling him West Virginia was in need of a punter immediately.
 
"Would you consider going to West Virginia?" he asked.
 
The adventurous Growden figured what the heck, why not?
 
"Taking up American football and punting was a big shock to people," he said. "Then I was like, 'I'm going to go back to Australia' and that was a big shock to people. Then it was 'you know what, I'm going to go to West Virginia.' I just kind of go with the flow.
 
"So I looked into it and it looked like it would be really fun. Coming into the facility and seeing how football is viewed here, I was kind of blown away with how professional everything is and the high standards of everything. I was quite impressed," he added.
 
In five games so far this year, Growden has already made his presence felt. He's averaging a very solid 40.9 yards per punt with a net of 38.5, which ranks around the middle of college football teams in this week's NCAA stats.
 
More importantly, however, teams have managed just 4 punt return yards, and Growden has already placed nine kicks inside the 20, including one last week against Texas that was downed inside the 1.
 
Having Growden out there punting is like having a 12^th defender on the football field.
 
Growden was discovered by former LSU coach Les Miles through an Australian program called Pro Kick. Growden's original desire was to continue to play Australian Rules football before LSU signaled its interest.
 
In many ways, going to the United States to play football was far easier on his body than playing the football he's knows best.
 
"I played that for three years, and I broke my leg and had two hip operations in three years so it's pretty good not to get hit anymore, I'm not going to lie," he laughed.
 
A couple of weeks ago, Growden got an opportunity to briefly visit with Miles following the Kansas game and thank him for giving him the opportunity to come to the States and see a different part of the world.
 
"He was the coach who brought me here from Australia, and it was crazy to see us with different teams. I wish we got to run a fake against him. I would have loved that, but we had a special moment after the game where we shook hands," Growden said.
 
Growden said Louisiana has become like a second home to him, and he hopes that is also the case with the remaining time he has left in Morgantown.
 
"I hope in the next few months I can make this place somewhere I can come back to. I've been able to go to all parts of America so whenever I come back with family and stuff I can travel all over the place.
 
"This has been pretty cool, and I can't wait for what's next," he concluded.
 
This week's Life of a Mountaineer was produced by Sarah Ramundt and is presented by Panhandle Cleaning & Restoration.