This summer, 21-year-old Sam Fenton became the first British player to join a Division One college team in the United States as a quarterback.
Given he only began playing the sport seven years ago, his journey to the elite level of US college sport is remarkable.
Fenton got his first glimpse of American football watching a docuseries and confessed the sport "didn't seem real" to him.
But the Londoner was intrigued enough to take up a game that has now become the central part of his life as he pursues a professional career in America.
If leaving home was hard, the next challenge will be even tougher - carry on learning his craft, win a starting spot at the University of South Florida (USF) and impress enough in his time at college to be selected by an NFL team in the yearly draft.
"This is the hardest position in sports, that's what I believe," Fenton told BBC Sport.
"The pressure's what I love. If you win, you get all the glory. If you lose, everyone blames it on you because you're the main guy."