Dabo still searching for clarity with Clemson’s kicking game

Dabo Swinney was asked Tuesday if he has any clarity on the kicking situation following the bye week.

“You’ve got as much clarity on the kicking situation as I’ve got right now. I promise you,” he replied.

Not exactly encouraging news for Tigers fans.

Alex Spence has served as Clemson’s field goal kicker since Greg Huegel was lost for the season with a torn ACL but has struggled.

Spence is 2-for-6 on field-goal attempts this season, including 1-for-5 on attempts of 30 yards or longer. He missed two in Clemson’s 27-24 loss to Syracuse last Friday, leading to Swinney opening up the competition for the bye week.

The Tigers added a walk-on kicker to the mix in Charleston native Drew Costa, who has been competing with Spence and senior Christian Groomes for the starting job.

Swinney said that Spence is still ahead at this point, but not by much.

“It’s frustrating because I see Alex do it in practice. He’s been awesome since the Syracuse game. He comes out to practice and we track it. Everybody’s getting the same kick… We’re trying to just let them compete their tails off,” Swinney said. “Right now, today, Alex is still out front, but we’ve still got Tuesday practice, Wednesday practice, Thursday practice, and I’m going to watch warm-ups.”

Swinney added that the decision about who gets the first opportunity will not be made until game time.

“It’ll be the most watched warm-ups in the history of kicking warm-ups,” he joked. “Get there early. I’m going to chart it all the way. All the way to kickoff I’m charting it, and I have no idea who’s going to run out there first.”

Clemson is 4-for-10 on field goals this year, and Swinney said it can be deflating when you get into field goal range and do not come away with points.

He isn’t looking for a kicker to boom 50 yarders, but he would like the chip-shot kicks be made every time.

“I’m just asking them to make layups. I ain’t interested in a 3-pointer. Let’s just make the layups,” Swinney said. “We’re just running layup drill. Every day. That’s what we do. We’re just running layup drill. If we could just make some layups we could maybe grow from there.”

This story was originally published October 25, 2017 at 12:31 PM.