New USC punter Ben Griffiths had one of those moments of perspective this week as a fellow Trojans newcomer, QB Kedon Slovis, celebrated his 18th birthday.

Griffiths, meanwhile, is acclimating to USC as a 27-year-old after making the transition to American college football following an eight-year career in the Australian Football League.

"There are days when I feel like an old guy, especially days like today when a kid turns 18," Griffiths said Thursday after practice. "But for the most part if anything it makes me feel younger, which I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing. But it's a lot of fun, and I'm getting older but I'm still young."

USC special teams coordinator John Baxter had said earlier this spring that he spent about a year and nine months recruiting Griffiths to make the move halfway across the world. Griffiths had retired from the Richmond Tigers of the AFL in early 2018 due to injuries and concussions, and he was interested in pursuing a college education.

"People think, ah, he's some kind of mercenary -- he's nothing like that. He's a college football player and enjoying every minute of it," Baxter had said. "... He was going into a contract year and it was that time for him anyway, so what a blessing -- now at 27, going to be 28, he gets to go to college. … He said he wants to be a teacher so it's a great opportunity for everybody."

Despite being the oldest player on the roster, Griffiths was nonetheless kept off limits for interviews most of the spring as was the case with all of the team's newcomers prior to a few being made available this week.

Getting to tell a little bit of his story for the first time, Griffiths said he had thought about this opportunity for some time.

"I guess it was something I had in the back of my mind for a while," he said. "I think back home, especially in Australian sports, there's a lot of American sports. A lot of coaches try to implement things from the game here for training back there, so we kind of have this American culture back home. And yeah, it's been something I've had in the back of my mind for a long time."

Griffiths was the Richmond Tigers' second-round draft pick in 2009 and played 63 games for the club.

So what has the transition been like from seasoned pro to college freshman?

"The transition to the locker room has been pretty seamless," he said. "Classes early days were pretty hard -- hadn't studied for a while so sitting in a class and paying attention for 20 minutes was a bit of a challenge."

And on the field?

"I'm kind of learning the vocabulary. Baxter's been really good at sort of adjusting it to the words I'm familiar with and trying to relate it back to the AFL, which is really helpful because it kind of puts things in perspective for myself and where I need to sort of execute," he said.

For instance, tracking his punts in terms of yards is something he's still getting used to, as like most of the world Australia uses meters for distance.

"But I kind of had a basic understanding of the game before I came over," Griffiths said. "It's just been the finer stuff that Baxter's been helping me with."

Griffiths said he came over here about six years ago for a training camp and took in an Arizona Cardinals game. He also saw an NFL game in San Diego and then got another taste of American football during his USC official visit last year.

Griffiths also has some fellow Australian punters to lean on when he needs input or perspective. That group includes Utah's Ray Guy Award winner Mitch Wishnowsky, Utah newcomer Ben Lennon (a former Richmond Tigers teammate) and Pittsburgh Steelers' punter Jordan Berry.

"We've got a little groupchat so we can all sort of support each other," Griffiths said. "It's good to kind of stay in contact and check in on each other, see how it's going. It is a long move from home and some of the guys coming are pretty young. I guess myself being a 27-year-old, for me it can be a kind of support network and I find that a pretty important thing. It's kind of good just to stay in touch with each other."

As for his relationship with Baxter, the lead recruiter responsible for landing him at USC and now his position coach responsible for easing that transition, Griffiths says "it's very professional."

He noted that his main priority this spring has been learning to punt with a "proper spiral," after being more familiar with the drop punt with backspin or the rugby style kick.

Griffiths may be adjusting still, but he looks the part and has sent some booming punts down the practice field this spring.

"I'm just a sponge trying to learn as much as I can, and [Baxter] has been really good at breaking it down for me and just working on the small things to start off with," he said. "He's so knowledgeable. I'm very, very fortunate to be learning from him."