Bailey Flint
{{Short description|Australian gridiron football player (born 1996)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox Canadian Football League biography
|name=Bailey Flint
|image=2023, 26, Bailey Flint.jpg
|caption=Flint with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2023
|team=Saskatchewan Roughriders
|number=
|position1=Punter
|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1996|09|05}}
|birth_place=Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
|Height_ft=6
|Height_in=4
|Weight_lbs=210
|high_school=Layton Christian Academy
(Layton, Utah)
|college=Toledo
|CFLDraftedYear=2022G
|CFLDraftedRound=1
|CFLDraftedPick=2
|CFLDraftedTeam=Hamilton Tiger-Cats
|playing_years1={{CFL Year|2023}}
|playing_team1=Hamilton Tiger-Cats
|playing_years2={{CFL Year|2025}}–present
|playing_team2=Saskatchewan Roughriders
|career_highlights=
|status=Active
|import=global
|CFL=bailey-flint/166943/
}}
Bailey Robert Flint (born September 5, 1996) is an Australian professional gridiron football punter for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Toledo.
Early life
A native of Melbourne, Australia, Flint played gridiron football for the first time in 2015 when he participated in a nine-on-nine football game.{{cite news|url=https://torontosun.com/sports/football/australian-punter-bailey-flint-could-bring-eclectic-resume-to-tiger-cats|title=Australian punter Bailey Flint could bring eclectic resume to Tiger-Cats|work=Toronto Sun|first=Dan|last=Barnes|date=May 4, 2022|access-date=May 17, 2023}} Just a few months after joining his local club team, he played with Team Australia in the Down Under Bowl.{{cite news|url=https://nfldraftdiamonds.com/2022/01/bailey-flint/|title=2022 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Bailey Flint, P, University of Toledo|work=NFL Draft Diamonds|first=Justin|last=Berendzen|date=January 28, 2022|access-date=May 17, 2023}} From there, Flint got the chance to play one year of high school football at Layton Christian Academy in Layton, Utah, during which he weighed 260 pounds and played both right tackle and defensive end. He went on to lose a large amount of weight but gave up on the sport as he did not think he could play college football.
Flint then trained with Prokick Australia, a Melbourne-based academy designed to convert Australian athletes into gridiron football kickers and punters at the collegiate and professional levels. He credits the program with re-igniting his drive to succeed in the sport.
College career
Flint played 49 games in five seasons with the Toledo Rockets from 2017 to 2021, recording 211 punts for 8,501 yards and an average of 40.3 yards per punt. He also had 16 touchbacks and only had one punt blocked.{{cite news|url=https://www.toledoblade.com/sports/ut/2022/05/01/former-toledo-punter-bailey-flint-will-attend-steelers-minicamp|title=Former Toledo punter Bailey Flint will attend Steelers minicamp|work=The Blade|date=May 1, 2022|access-date=May 18, 2023}}
As a freshman, Flint played in all 14 games and recorded 47 punts for an average of 38.0 yards, including a season-long 57-yard punt against Ball State.{{cite web|url=https://utrockets.com/sports/football/roster/bailey-flint/7355|title=Bailey Flint|publisher=Toledo Rockets Athletics|access-date=May 17, 2023}} As a sophomore, he appeared in 13 games and punted 61 times for an average of 40.9 yards. In a win over Bowling Green, Flint ran for a first down after a fake punt.{{cite news|url=https://utrockets.com/news/2018/10/6/football-rockets-blast-past-bowling-green-52-36.aspx|title=Rockets Blast Past Bowling Green, 52-36|publisher=Toledo Rockets Athletics|date=October 6, 2018|access-date=May 17, 2023}} Two weeks later, he punted eight times for an average of 41.4 yards against Buffalo, earning Mid-American Conference (MAC) West Co-Special Teams Player of the Week honors.{{cite news|url=https://utrockets.com/news/2018/10/22/football-bailey-flint-named-mac-west-co-special-teams-player-of-the-week|title=Bailey Flint Named MAC West Co-Special Teams Player of the Week|publisher=Toledo Rockets Athletics|date=October 22, 2018|access-date=May 17, 2023}} As a junior in 2019, Flint averaged 47.3 yards per punt until he missed the final eight games after suffering a season-ending injury that damaged several ligaments in his left ankle.{{cite news|url=https://www.toledoblade.com/sports/ut/2021/10/20/toledo-punter-bailey-flint-pays-it-forward-to-local-daycare/stories/20211020010|title=Toledo punter Bailey Flint pays it forward to local daycare|work=The Blade|first=Kyle|last=Rowland|date=October 20, 2021|access-date=May 17, 2023}} In a win over Colorado State, he averaged 52.0 yards on six punts, including a career-high 72 yarder in the first quarter.{{cite news|url=https://utrockets.com/sports/2019/9/22/post-game-notes-vs-colorado-state.aspx|title=Post-Game Notes vs. Colorado State|publisher=Toledo Rockets Athletics|date=September 22, 2019|access-date=May 17, 2023}}
Prior to his senior season in 2020, Flint was named to the preseason watchlist for the Ray Guy Award, given to the nation's best punter.{{cite news|url=https://utrockets.com/news/2021/7/27/football-bailey-flint-named-to-ray-guy-award-watch-list|title=Bailey Flint Named to Ray Guy Award Watch List|publisher=Toledo Rockets Athletics|date=July 27, 2021|access-date=May 17, 2023}} He was also named a team captain. Flint punted 19 times for an average of 36.4 yards per punt before the remainder of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He used the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes due to the shortened 2020 season and returned to Toledo for a fifth year in 2021. Flint was named to the Ray Guy Award preseason watchlist for the second year in a row. He punted 64 times for 2,578 yards and an average of 40.3 yards per punt. In a loss to Notre Dame, Flint punted seven times for an average of 45.4 yards, including punts of 68 and 57 yards, and earned MAC West Special Teams Player of the Week honors.{{cite news|url=https://utrockets.com/news/2021/9/13/football-dyontae-johnson-bailey-flint-earn-mac-player-of-the-week-honors|title=Dyontae Johnson, Bailey Flint Earn MAC Player of Week Honors|publisher=Toledo Rockets Athletics|date=September 13, 2021|access-date=May 17, 2023}}
Professional career
=Hamilton Tiger-Cats=
Flint was selected by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL) as the second overall pick in the 2022 CFL Global Draft. Later that month he was invited to the Pittsburgh Steelers rookie minicamp on a tryout basis,{{cite news|url=https://heavy.com/sports/pittsburgh-steelers/punter-bailey-flint-2022-rookie-minicamp/|title=No. 2 Overall Pick in CFL Global Draft Among Tryouts at Steelers Rookie Minicamp|work=Heavy|date=May 14, 2023|access-date=May 17, 2023}} but was not signed.
On May 5, 2023, it was announced that he had signed with the Tiger-Cats.{{cite press release|url=https://www.cfl.ca/2023/05/05/ticats-sign-22-global-pick-bailey-flint-three-others/|title=Ticats sign '22 Global pick Bailey Flint, three others|publisher=Canadian Football League|date=May 5, 2023|access-date=May 17, 2023}} He played in eight games in 2023 where he had 52 punts with a 45.1-yard average. He was released on June 1, 2024.{{cite web | url=https://www.footballdb.com/teams/cfl/hamilton-tiger-cats/transactions | title=Hamilton Tiger-Cats Transactions | publisher=Footballdb.com | accessdate=12 August 2024}}
=Saskatchewan Roughriders=
Personal life
Bailey Flint was born to Douglas Flint and Rachel Perry and has one brother and two sisters. He was the first person in his family to graduate high school. Flint went on to graduate from the University of Toledo with bachelor's degrees in media communication and theater, performing in the university's production of All Quiet on the Western Front in 2018.{{cite news|url=https://www.toledoblade.com/sports/ut/2018/11/05/university-of-toledo-punter-Flint-steps-into-spotlight-in-theater-show|title=UT punter Flint steps into spotlight in theater show|work=The Blade|first=Brian|last=Buckley|date=November 5, 2018|access-date=May 17, 2023}} Flint studied theatre in Moscow the following year. Flint also gained a considerable social media following while at Toledo, garnering over 160,000 TikTok followers by his fifth year, which was the most of any Toledo student-athlete.{{cite news|url=https://www.toledoblade.com/sports/ut/2021/07/18/david-briggs-ut-athlete-sports-column/stories/20210717062|title=Briggs: Here's why UT's most marketable athlete is forbidden from cashing in|work=The Blade|first=David|last=Briggs|date=July 18, 2021|access-date=May 19, 2023}} However, due to being an international student, he was not able to receive compensation for use of his name, image, and likeness (NIL).
Flint also sings and plays the ukulele and has recorded over 40 songs as of 2021. In July 2021, he released a five-song extended play (EP) called #TheHeartbreakClub.{{cite news|url=https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/news/2021/07/06/university-of-toledo-football-player-releases-music#|title=University of Toledo football player releases music|work=Spectrum News 1|first=Shannon|last=MacNeil|date=July 6, 2021|access-date=May 17, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/album/3rEw4CF8yEruPcKOE4tJpZ|title=#TheHeartbreakClub|website=Spotify|access-date=May 17, 2023}}
He is married to Racing Louisville FC NWSL player Taylor Kornieck.
=Community service=
During his time in school, Flint became well known in Toledo for his commitment to community service.{{cite news|url=https://www.toledoblade.com/sports/ut/2022/09/04/things-learned-football-long-island-glass-bowl-university-of-toledo/stories/20220902116|title=3 things we learned about Toledo football against Long Island|work=The Blade|first=Kyle|last=Rowland|date=September 4, 2022|access-date=May 19, 2023}} For several years, he volunteered at My First Days Daycare to read and spend time with the children and even recorded YouTube videos of himself reading for them to watch during the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite news|url=https://www.wtol.com/article/sports/rockets-punter-flint-using-platform-to-give-back-to-toledo/512-63adc32f-9615-42f1-a7b8-14f2d74e7faa|title=Rockets punter Flint using platform to give back to Toledo|publisher=WTOL|first1=Jordan|last1=Strack|first2=Troy|last2=Gingerich|date=October 20, 2021|access-date=May 17, 2023}} He later sold t-shirts to raise money to update the daycare facilities. Flint credits his own modest upbringing in Australia, and then seeing children in similar situations in the U.S., with helping him decide to use his platform to make a difference. He was honored with the Findlay Family Athletic Award in 2019, given to Toledo student-athletes based upon the principles of volunteerism, sportsmanship, and community service. Flint was also named to the Wuerffel Trophy watchlist in 2020 and 2021.{{cite news|url=https://utrockets.com/news/2021/7/29/football-bailey-flint-named-to-wuerffel-trophy-watch-list|title=Bailey Flint Named to Wuerffel Trophy Watch List|publisher=Toledo Rockets Athletics|date=July 29, 2021|access-date=May 17, 2023}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.riderville.com/players/bailey-flint/166943/ Saskatchewan Roughriders bio]
- [https://utrockets.com/sports/football/roster/bailey-flint/7355 Toledo Rockets bio]
{{Saskatchewan Roughriders roster navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flint, Bailey}}
Category:Australian players of American football
Category:Australian players of Canadian football
Category:American football punters
Category:Canadian football punters
Category:Toledo Rockets football players
Category:Hamilton Tiger-Cats players
Category:Saskatchewan Roughriders players
Category:Sportspeople from Melbourne