The Armagh man had never even attempted a kick of that distance before in his career.

Paddy McAteer emerged as the hero for his Indiana Hosiers side in American College Football this past weekend.

With Indiana trailing 16-13 in the final seconds of the game, long-range specialist McAteer stepped up to the mark from 60 yards.

The Armagh native stitched the field goal, tying the match to send the game to over-time. The Hosiers eventually went on to win 23-16, and when McAteer returned to the locker room, he was greeted as a hero by his teammates.

By making the kick, McAteer etched himself into the Indiana history books as no kicker had ever completed a 60-yard field goal in the school's history.

Speaking to reporters after the game, McAteer admitted that he had never even attempted a 60-yard kick with a line of scrimmage in front of him, and that it was the 'forbidden number' in practice.

A GAA star with Mullaghbawn in his younger days, McAteer is the latest Irish kicker to make waves stateside after the likes of Charlie Smyth and Jude McAtamney featured in the NFL last year.