For those who have spent time with Seamus O'Kelly, his Australian accent is almost as potent as his punting abilities on a football field.

The Brisbane native generated the second-most fair catches in the Sun Belt in the 2021 season, while also ranking fifth in the league with 17 punts inside the 20-yard line. Phil Steele, Pro Football Focus, Athlon Sports and the Sun Belt coaches and media have all selected him to either a preseason or postseason All-Sun Belt team over the last two seasons.

O'Kelly will enter the 2022 season having appeared in 35 career games with 183 punt attempts.

Following Texas State's photo day on Wednesday, O'Kelly sat down to answer a few questions:
 
Question: You've been in the United States for a while now, so what are some differences between the U.S. and Australia?
Answer: That's tough because there are actually a lot of similarities. The coaches are pretty similar. Everyone in Australia loves sports, so moving to Texas really wasn't a big change because (Australia) was bigger than anywhere here in America. Honestly, where I'm from in Australia — Queensland — it's hot, basically all year, so that's been a nice thing about living in Texas, the climate is adaptable.
 
Q: What sports did you grow up playing?
A: Australian Rules Football is the sport back home, so that's what I grew up playing. Australian Rules Football and soccer. I love soccer. That was probably my number one. I still keep up to date on everything with professional soccer. I'm a big Chelsea fan.
 
Q: When we talked with you last year, you mentioned how your dad was a famous musician.
A: Yeah, he's a famous percussionist. He did that for his entire career. He's retired now and owns a music store, so he could be closer to the family.
 
Q: Did his career give you more appreciation for classical music growing up?
A: I definitely listened to it. But yeah, I'd definitely say I appreciate it more than the average person, because we were always listening to that type of music.
 
Q: So, when you leave here and get back into your vehicle and drive, what music is going to be playing?
A: I'm so diverse with all that. I listen to absolutely any and everything. Drake is pretty good right now. And the list could go on, to be honest.
 
Q: Your brother, Harry, played at James Madison, right?
A: Yeah, he did, but he's now graduated. His last season was last fall, so now he's moved on and is working in Richmond, Virginia right now. But I have another one of my best mates — Sam Clark — from the academy in Australia — Prokick — just transferred to James Madison, so I'll get to play against him. I think that'll be awesome, too, because I've been out there a few times. I actually lived there with my brother during COVID, so I know he's going to love it there.
 
Q: So you lived in Harrisonburg?
A: Yeah, for two to two-and-a-half months. I wasn't able to go home (to Australia). It was just the easiest thing to do.
 
Q: What was that like?
A: It was fun. Obviously, weird times with a lot of uncertainty. I didn't know how long I would be staying there. But, just to be able to spend months with my brother, who I only get to see once a year when I'm living in the country, so that was really nice.
 
Q: What can fans expect from Seamus O'Kelly this season?
A: I'm hoping a better outcome for the year, honestly. I wasn't too happy with last year. I wanted to move up from the year before — because I felt like I was improving — but I just have to stay levelheaded and take each game one by one. That's really all you can do as a specialist: if you hit a bad ball, you have to clear your head or if something bad happens, you just have to forget about it and move on.
 
O'Kelly and the rest of the Texas State football program will open the 2022 season at Nevada on Sept. 3 (2:30 pm PT / 4:30 pm CT). The home-opening contest for the Bobcats is set for 6 pm CT on Sept. 10 against FIU.

Season tickets, which start as low as $80 for the entire season, and single-game tickets are available for the entire six-game home schedule at TXST.com/tickets.