Jack Cassidy hasn’t kicked for long, becoming most consistent piece for WVU football
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West Virginia football kicker Jack Cassidy is from Derry, Ireland, which is part of the northern part of the country. It’s a rural area.
There isn't football there, or at least American football as they call it overseas. Instead, Cassidy played Gaelic football. Gaelic football is a combination of basketball, rugby and soccer. It's on the smaller side as an amateur sport, but it is the nation's national sport. Cassidy played at the club his uncle founded, and almost every member of his family played there.
"You play for pride of place where you're from," Cassidy said.
There are some similarities to Gaelic football and football football. Cassidy played goalie, and they have a kickout, which is similar to kickoffs. The best goalies could kick it as far as possible. There are also free kicks, where you kick the ball off the ground.
"It's definitely different," Cassidy said. "The swing is different. I think I adapted to it pretty well. I'm just always trying to learn, trying to get better."
Cassidy thought he'd spend the rest of his life there. Always being good at kicking a ball, Cassidy was using social media when he came across Charlie Smyth. Smyth played Gaelic football and is now kicking on the New Orleans Saints in Year 2. There were a few other Gaelic athletes who attended the NFL Combine, and Cassidy went along.
"Very quickly realized this is something that I could do," Cassidy said.
Now, Cassidy's the most reliable part of the Mountaineers this season. The defense is struggling, the offense has its flashes, but you'll always know Cassidy is going to boot it through the end zone on a kickoff, not miss a PAT or field goal. He's made all four field goal attempts and has kicked 28 kickoffs of 33 through the end zone.
"I wanted the guy to kick it out of the end zone on kickoffs most of the time," Rich Rodriguez said. "Try to take that, relieve that worry. He’s been really good at that. Then the field goal part of it, somebody that could be pretty consistent… Jack has been really good.”
Cassidy hasn't been kicking for long either. He didn't know about college football until two years ago, and started kicking in January of 2025. Cassidy was rated as a 5-star by Kohl’s Kicking Camps, and signed with Western Kentucky in May of that year.
He played in all 13 games for the Hilltoppers, primarily on kickoffs and connected on all three field goals in 2025, meaning he's perfect in his college career.
"I didn't think it would happen as fast as it did,” Cassidy said. “I didn't know what I was getting myself into, but I've loved every minute of it."
Cassidy hit the portal in the offseason and transferred to the Mountaineers, using his last year of eligibility.
"I just became fully set on taking this journey as far as possible," Cassidy said. "I wanted to play at the highest level. West Virginia is obviously a massive football program. Once they came knocking, it was a no-brainer for me to come here and compete, play on the biggest stage, and see how far I can take this career."
Cassidy spent the fall in a competition battle with returner and West Virginia native Nate Flower and Alabama transfer Peter Notaro. Cassidy, or Big Jack as Rodriguez calls him with his big boot, won the battle.
Aside from a few kicks not striking the end zone, Cassidy's been perfect, which for a college and almost every NFL kicker is the goal. But Cassidy hasn't been a college or even a kicker for long. He's only played 18 games and is still just learning the sport itself.
"Every day is a new challenge," Cassidy said. "Coach Rod, coach (Pat) Kirkland, coach (Chris) Haering do a great job of putting us under pressure. We're ready for everything and anything that anybody throws at us. For me, I'm always just trying to get better. Trying to be as perfect as possible."