Josh Growden leaving LSU for West Virginia as graduate transfer

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia has added former LSU punter Josh Growden as a graduate transfer.

West Virginia coach Neal Brown announced that Growden practiced with the Mountaineers on Saturday.

Growden averaged 41.4 yards per punt as a freshman in 2016 before Zach Von Rosenburg replaced him as LSU's primary punter the past two seasons.

The 26-year-old Growden is a native of Clare, Australia. He's looking to replace the graduated Billy Kinney. The Mountaineers had four freshmen listed as punters on the roster before Growden's arrival.

Brown says Growden "fits a need."

Growden had planned to return to his native Australia. 

Those plans changed when fellow Australian Max Hayes failed to show up at West Virginia to be a punter for the Mountaineers.

Growden, who was already planning to be a graduate transfer, was reportedly contacted by ProKick Australia about transferring to West Virginia to fill in for Hayes.

"It was the right thing to do,'' Gowden told The Athletic. "And I kind of owed it to my punting coaches because they got me to LSU in the first place.''

Growden, who was a short-distance punter for LSU the last two seasons, will likely be a full-time punter at West Virginia.

Von Rosenberg, who was the long-distance punter for LSU, will likely be a full-time punter for the Tigers.