Analysis: Vikings’ Australian punter isn’t just here for fun. He could win the starting job.

And the winner for best accent by a Vikings player at TCO Performance Center goes to …

“Oscar the Aussie,” says Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels.

That’s not rookie punter Oscar Chapman’s official nickname from the Vikings’ beloved unofficial moniker maker. That’s pending.

“I’m waiting to see how he does,” Daniels joked.

Based on several conversations at TCO, Oscar the Aussie isn’t just another feel-good tale about foreign-born player the Vikings brought in to fill their International Player Pathway Program roster exemption. Unlike last year’s exemption, Sammis Reyes, the muscle-bound Chilean tight end, Oscar the Aussie is in a legitimate camp competition.

Don’t believe us? Then take Daniels’ take on the situation.

“Absolutely it’s a legitimate competition,” Daniels said. “Oscar has been a joy to be around. The best thing he brings is all the different kind of balls that he can hit that comes so natural by playing Australian rules football.

Chapman hails from Adelaide, South Australia. He was 12 one day when he woke up at 6 a.m. to watch an NFL prime-time game with his dad, David.

David’s favorite player was Tom Brady. Oscar had one question for dad.

“Who’s Tom Brady?” he says with a laugh.

It wasn’t the last question Oscar would ask his father as they watched that game 14 years ago.

“I was lost,” Chapman said. “Trying to understand all the downs. All the penalties. Certain guys going out on defense. Certain guys going out on offense.”

“I played with [former Vikings punter] Jordan Berry and he made me watch a game,” said Vikings long snapper Andrew DePaola. “I was asking questions the entire time. No clue.”

Essentially, Aussie rules is a sport with no passing by hand. The ball can be carried until tackled and then either handed off or passed by kicking. Six points come from kicking the ball between the two tallest poles at the ends of the field. One point comes from kicking the ball between one of the tall poles and one of the shorter poles on either side of the tall poles.

“And the ball is huge and oily and more round,” Daniels said.

Sounds … weird.

And transferrable skill-wise to punting in American football. That’s what former Aussie rules footballer Nathan Chapman (no relation) thought when he created Prokick Australia in Melbourne.

Berry was a product of Prokick Australia. Former longtime Seahawk Michael Dickson came from there. Ditto for Pittsburgh’s Cameron Johnston, Chicago’s Tory Taylor, New Orleans’ Matthew Hayball and James Burnip, the Giants’ Jude McAtamney, Broncos sixth-round draft pick Jeremy Crawshaw and Oscar the Aussie, who punted five seasons at Auburn.

Before Prokick, Darren Bennett went from Aussie rules football to an 11-year NFL punting career, including 2004-05 with the Vikings.

“I think we all have a natural ability,” said Chapman, who averaged 43.5 yards in 59 punts at Auburn. “In Australian football, it’s 18 on 18. You get tackled, you pick the ball up and you got to kick the ball under pressure.

“I came to college football, I catch the ball and I got a bunch of guys protecting me. It’s kind of very easy to be like, ‘Now all I got to do is catch it and kick it where they want me to kick it.’”

Incumbent punter Ryan Wright could be facing some pressure. Undrafted in 2022, he was outstanding as a rookie. He posted a career-high 42.3-yard net average with one touchback and 32 punts inside the 20 in 73 attempts.

“Absolutely, I see Oscar as competition,” Wright said. “Everything in the NFL is competition.”

Oscar the Aussie made sure to hedge his NFL bet by getting an accounting degree at Auburn. He married his wife, Chloe, in February and says he’ll go back to Australia if the NFL doesn’t pan out.

“There are some real studs here,” Chapman said. “So we’ll see how it goes. At least now I know what’s going on when I watch American football.”