The college transition is a unique experience and challenging in various ways for everyone who goes through it.
For Wilson Berry, it's a little different than for others enrolling with the Cats' football program mid-year.
He's coming from across the globe and adjusting to a sport that's relatively new to him.
Berry met with UK reporters via Zoom last week and here's what he said.
Q: What's been the toughest thing as far as adapting? Time change or something else?
Berry: Well, first of all it was snowing, so that was pretty tough. I don't have a car yet so I've been walking to practice and, yeah, a few mornings I didn't think I was going to quite make it in.
Q: Is there more pressure to fill the shoes of a Ray Guy winner or your big brother?
Berry: They're pretty much the same. We all train together so in terms of escaping their shadow I think it's a case of yeah, trying to beat those expectations. Which shoes are bigger, I don't think there's any bigger shoes at the moment, so I'm up for the task, that's for sure.
Q: What do you benefit from training with those guys and getting input while kicking?
Berry: Difference in perspective. Obviously, older brother played at EKU, smaller college and then onto the pros so he's got that experience in big games and in the pro level. And talking to Max obviously coming from the same school, getting a knowledge on the building and how the stadium operates, so yeah, that local knowledge for my punting.
Q: When you were trying to make your college choice who did you depend on more for information? Your brother or Max and what did they tell you?
Berry: When you're making a decision as big as this I think you have to sort of go through all channels. Everyone who has a stake in it, I asked. Obviously ProKick's been a big help and they couldn't recommend Kentucky enough and then, yeah, once I got in contact with Max it was quite an easy choice. He raves about Kentucky as a place and Kentucky as a football team so it was quite easy to choose.
Q: Who've you been taking directions from up to this point? Coach Singleton was going to work with the special teams. How's the chain of command working?
Berry: Well, Max thinks he's in charge of the special teams so he's still barking orders, which makes no sense, but yeah, Matsakis is still hanging around and giving us some direction but you know I think collectively as a specialist group ... whoever's in charge I think we're going to produce a good result.
Q: When you make the switch to American football what are the steps to not only changing how you do it but how it goes about?
Berry: Yeah, there's a few differences. Obviously the ball's made from throwing rather than kicking so that sweet spot and that niceness off the foot is a bit hard to find, but yeah, it comes through a lot of practice and trying to remold that kicking action because obviously we've got the strength as punters because that's what we do, but trying to find that sweet spot and sort of driving up through the ball rather than cutting across it, which is what we would do naturally back in Aussie rules.
Q: Talk to us about what your personality is off the field.
Berry: I like to smile. Smiling's my favorite, Larry. I can't see your camera so I don't know who I'm smiling at. I'm a happy kind of character and I like to think that I try to bring up everyone around me and that's how I would describe myself off the field, just generally happy.
Q: Max spends a lot of time telling us why he thinks being in the NFL is a long shot and it will probably never happen so he doesn't think much about it. What do you think?
Berry: Yeah, I think so. He has a good work ethic and it's tough as he says. There's only 32 jobs in the world and the quality of punters coming through these days is quite phenomenal. I know Max is a great punter and in the punting game there's a lot of luck involved and hopefully it swings his way come the draft.
Q: Do you think you'd be able to pull of the trick play your brother pulled off at EKU?
Berry: The punt pass? I was practicing that at Tuesday's practice so I think it may be added to the playbook, so just hold tight for that one.
Q: There are American kids who transfer because they want to get closer to home. You're from quite far away. Could you talk about the mindset that comes from living on your side of the world and accepting the travel that takes place?
Berry: Yeah it is obviously different moving. It took me 27-odd hours moving to get here with stop overs. But in terms of sort of picking here it was a case of I wanted to play in the best level of sport that I can and to go to an SEC school and Kentucky a program that's really on the rise, it's quite easy to wake up every day and put in the work. If that means living farther away from home then so be it.
Q: Did you seriously consider any other schools?
Berry: Sort of through ProKick they do a lot of that and handle a lot of that. Once Kentucky came there's no point looking anywhere else because that's where I wanted to be.
For Wilson Berry, it's a little different than for others enrolling with the Cats' football program mid-year.
He's coming from across the globe and adjusting to a sport that's relatively new to him.
Berry met with UK reporters via Zoom last week and here's what he said.
Q: What's been the toughest thing as far as adapting? Time change or something else?
Berry: Well, first of all it was snowing, so that was pretty tough. I don't have a car yet so I've been walking to practice and, yeah, a few mornings I didn't think I was going to quite make it in.
Q: Is there more pressure to fill the shoes of a Ray Guy winner or your big brother?
Berry: They're pretty much the same. We all train together so in terms of escaping their shadow I think it's a case of yeah, trying to beat those expectations. Which shoes are bigger, I don't think there's any bigger shoes at the moment, so I'm up for the task, that's for sure.
Q: What do you benefit from training with those guys and getting input while kicking?
Berry: Difference in perspective. Obviously, older brother played at EKU, smaller college and then onto the pros so he's got that experience in big games and in the pro level. And talking to Max obviously coming from the same school, getting a knowledge on the building and how the stadium operates, so yeah, that local knowledge for my punting.
Q: When you were trying to make your college choice who did you depend on more for information? Your brother or Max and what did they tell you?
Berry: When you're making a decision as big as this I think you have to sort of go through all channels. Everyone who has a stake in it, I asked. Obviously ProKick's been a big help and they couldn't recommend Kentucky enough and then, yeah, once I got in contact with Max it was quite an easy choice. He raves about Kentucky as a place and Kentucky as a football team so it was quite easy to choose.
Q: Who've you been taking directions from up to this point? Coach Singleton was going to work with the special teams. How's the chain of command working?
Berry: Well, Max thinks he's in charge of the special teams so he's still barking orders, which makes no sense, but yeah, Matsakis is still hanging around and giving us some direction but you know I think collectively as a specialist group ... whoever's in charge I think we're going to produce a good result.
Q: When you make the switch to American football what are the steps to not only changing how you do it but how it goes about?
Berry: Yeah, there's a few differences. Obviously the ball's made from throwing rather than kicking so that sweet spot and that niceness off the foot is a bit hard to find, but yeah, it comes through a lot of practice and trying to remold that kicking action because obviously we've got the strength as punters because that's what we do, but trying to find that sweet spot and sort of driving up through the ball rather than cutting across it, which is what we would do naturally back in Aussie rules.
Q: Talk to us about what your personality is off the field.
Berry: I like to smile. Smiling's my favorite, Larry. I can't see your camera so I don't know who I'm smiling at. I'm a happy kind of character and I like to think that I try to bring up everyone around me and that's how I would describe myself off the field, just generally happy.
Q: Max spends a lot of time telling us why he thinks being in the NFL is a long shot and it will probably never happen so he doesn't think much about it. What do you think?
Berry: Yeah, I think so. He has a good work ethic and it's tough as he says. There's only 32 jobs in the world and the quality of punters coming through these days is quite phenomenal. I know Max is a great punter and in the punting game there's a lot of luck involved and hopefully it swings his way come the draft.
Q: Do you think you'd be able to pull of the trick play your brother pulled off at EKU?
Berry: The punt pass? I was practicing that at Tuesday's practice so I think it may be added to the playbook, so just hold tight for that one.
Q: There are American kids who transfer because they want to get closer to home. You're from quite far away. Could you talk about the mindset that comes from living on your side of the world and accepting the travel that takes place?
Berry: Yeah it is obviously different moving. It took me 27-odd hours moving to get here with stop overs. But in terms of sort of picking here it was a case of I wanted to play in the best level of sport that I can and to go to an SEC school and Kentucky a program that's really on the rise, it's quite easy to wake up every day and put in the work. If that means living farther away from home then so be it.
Q: Did you seriously consider any other schools?
Berry: Sort of through ProKick they do a lot of that and handle a lot of that. Once Kentucky came there's no point looking anywhere else because that's where I wanted to be.
