Underrated Position Battle for the Clemson Tigers

Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney spoke to the media for nearly an hour earlier this week, taking various questions about the state of his roster as fall camp approaches. One of the questions was about the position battle at punter, a spot that caused the Tigers considerable issues in 2024. 

Swinney addressed the battle, giving insight into the state of the position at this point in the summer.

The competition should come as a welcome sight to Tiger fans after a disastrous season from Aidan Swanson, who finished No. 63 in the nation in average yards per punt with a mark of just 41.1 yards. That mark was the worst among qualified ACC punters.

“I’ve got two guys,” Swinney said. “I’d say Jack [Smith] came out just a smidge ahead in the spring, and so TBD. We’ll see. We’ve got a long way to go between now and gameday.”

Smith enters the season with four career punts at Clemson, averaging 35.8 yards per punt. However, Swinney remains confident in Smith and had plenty of praise for the junior and former top-five punter recruit out of high school.

“We went and signed Jack because we really believe in him,” Swinney said. “It’s not something that we just wished upon a star. We really believe in Jack Smith, and he earned a scholarship here, and it’s his opportunity to go do it.”

The main competition for Smith, according to Swinney, is junior Will McCune. McCune joined the Tigers as a walk-on in January 2024 and has yet to record a punt in a live game for Clemson. McCune was rostered as a punter at Charleston Southern as a freshman in 2022, but did not punt in a game. However, Swinney still gave the junior a chance at winning the battle.

“And McCune is another guy we brought onto the team because we were like, ‘You know what? This kid’s got a real shot,’ and then he’s risen up and he’s competing.”

Swinney also briefly mentioned junior Robert Gunn III, a talented kickoff specialist who has been primarily listed at kicker in his time at Clemson. Gunn has recorded touchbacks on 136 of 165 kickoffs, is 15-16 on PATs, and is 1-5 on field goal attempts. Ultimately, though, the decision will be made based on each punter’s performance through camp.

“I really like the potential of both of those guys, but we’ve got to see the performance consistently,” Swinney said.

In a time of the season that is all about position battles, the competition for punter might end up being one of the most pivotal for the Tigers. If Swinney and Clemson can turn what was an Achilles heel into at least a solid position, the Tigers should be able to feel much more comfortable with their special teams for 2025.