Clemson Football: 5 instant impact early signees

3. Punter, Aidan Swanson

So, I understand that throwing a punter on an impact player list is a bit unorthodox to say the list but this was a glaring need for the Clemson Tigers. Sophomore Punter Will Spiers currently ranks 89th in average yards per punt and 55th in average yards per punt return with 7.53 yards. Spiers averages 39.4 yards per punt and if you’vs seen his tape you’d notice that he doesn’t put a lot of hang time on the ball.

Clemson’s punting issues start before Spiers tenure with Andy Teasdall. Teasdall is most notably remembered for a fake punt in the Orange Bowl against Oklahoma in which he hit a young Christian Wilkins in stride for a first down. What is also known about Teasdall is that he averaged 38 yards per punt his senior season which was a yard and a half worse than his junior year. The last time Clemson had a strong punter was Bradley Pinion who averaged 42.6 yards per punt his junior year before being drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Aidan Swanson brings back fond memories for Clemson fans just by being left-footed (similar to Clemson great Chris Gardocki). Swanson hails from Bradenton, Florida and bounced from Jesuit High School to the IMG Academy. He punted and served in kickoff duties in high school and averaged 63 percent touchbacks on his kickoffs.

Swanson boasted 42.3 yards per punt and gave up a mere 2.5 yards per return on average. The kid can also hang a ball in the air for long periods of time which is something a team contending for a national title needs if they plan on reversing field. Expect Swanson to come in and possibly win the job in the Spring over current starter Spiers.