Clemson’s Huegel carries on Catanzaro’s work

One of the beauties of sports involves the intricate story lines that weave through every game and every season. And at some point, one of those stories is going to have some sort of Cinderella angle.

Clemson placekicker Greg Huegel is a prime example. Back in the summer he was merely a walk-on who seemingly had little to no chance of breaking into the lineup.

Now he's an integral part of the No. 1 Tigers' 13-0 run.

And when I see the 5-11 specialist do his thing, it reminds me of former Clemson kicker Chandler Catanzaro — another Cinderella story.

He drilled a 47-yard field goal with 83 seconds left to lift the Arizona Cardinals to a 23-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings earlier this month and the Greenville native is one of the keys to the Cardinals' success.

"That one felt really good," Catanzaro said. "There's four parts to every kick. The blocking up front was great as always, the snap by Mike Leach was awesome, and the hold by Drew Miller was awesome. The kick felt great off my foot.

"I knew as soon as I left my foot it was going in."

Kickers — successful kickers — have to be confident, but that sure-footedness is something that builds over time.

One of the first times Catanzaro was in the spotlight came when Clemson played at Auburn in September, 2010.

The game was in overtime and Catanzaro — a redshirt freshman sidewinder who was originally a walk-on — kicked a 27-yard field goal that tied Auburn 27-all and extended the game.

But Clemson was called for illegal procedure, so Catanzaro had to do it again, this time from 32 yards out.

The do-over was wide left, and it was game over.

But Catanzaro didn't let that moment define him — at all.

Instead of being a young player overwhelmed by his mission he went on to be a clutch kicker for Dabo Swinney's team, kicking a 37-yarder as time expired to lead Clemson to a 25-24 win over LSU in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl.

For his Tiger career, "Little Cat" hit 81 percent of his field goals and missed only one in his junior and senior seasons combined.

And although he went undrafted — hardly uncommon for a field goal and PAT guy — his free agent deal with the Cards has paid dividends for both the team and the player.

He started his NFL career with 17 consecutive made field goals, which is a rookie record, and has since established himself as one of the best in the business.

And like any great kicker, he expects to split the uprights every time he lines up.

"I was very confident, to be honest," he said of his game-winner against Minnesota. "There was never a doubt in my mind. I gave myself permission to cut it loose. I've been hitting it great. I just went out there and trusted my swing.

"I kicked to make the kick not to not miss the kick."

And now Tiger field goal duties rest with Huegel, also a redshirt freshman and a player whose name just didn't quite roll off the lips of Swinney early on.

But even though the coach didn't know what to call him, he knew he needed the young man to step up after Ammon Lakip was suspended early in the season.

While Catanzaro took a while to develop consistency, the Blythewood product has already proved to be money from 3-point range, connecting on 22 of 25 field goals.

He has missed five extra points — Swinney jokes that he's good from outside the arc but can't hit layups — but when the Tigers have needed three he has more often than not provided the points.

And now here we are, just a few days away from the Orange Bowl, and it'll be up to Huegel to split the pipes if called upon.

Three years after Catanzaro gave his team the win — and gave Clemson another signature victory — another young kicker might have to step into the spotlight.

And when he does, I suspect he'll be kicking to make and not to miss.

That's how the really good ones think, even if they started out wearing a Cinderella slipper on their kicking foot.