He gave up a free ride to become a Gamecock. How he made the choice pay off

South Carolina kicker Will Tommie faced a choice.

He had a pretty solid setup at Tusculum. He was a starter at the Division II school. He had a scholarship. He’d been an all-conference player for the Pioneers. But the Greenwood, S.C., product wanted something more.

“I was just talking to my parents, and I realized I just wanted to play somewhere bigger,” Tommie said. ”At the biggest stage possible, and I knew I had the ability to do it.”

So he came home, transferred away from his starting job and his scholarship and tried to earn his way on at South Carolina.

And to a degree, he has.

Tommie has emerged as South Carolina’s kickoff specialist. He got a little work in garbage time against Coastal Carolina and, after getting another chance against Tennessee, has been the main option at that spot since.

He said there wasn’t much of a moment when he could call friends back home and get excited. He didn’t know he’d play in the opener or against Tennessee. It was only after a good week of practice before the Ole Miss game that he could call his parents and break the good news.

For the season, he has 27 touchbacks on 35 kickoffs. Starting kicker Parker White had handled some kickoffs, as had former starter Alex Woznick. At Tusculum, he was 11 of 14 on field goals as a freshman and 7 of 15 as a sophomore.

Tommie wasn’t on any roster in 2017 but made his way once he got into the mix.

“I just kind of came in here last spring and it was open competition,” Tommie said. “I showed out on kickoffs, and it kind of led me through the summer.”

He couldn’t participate in August camp but was told to return when the roster allowed and to be ready to kick off.

Tommie comes from a family of kickers with a pair of coaches as parents. His brother Chris kicked and punted at Wofford, and his brother Jeremy was at Presbyterian for a few seasons. He followed both of them at Emerald High School.

He talked about going with his father, Danny, to football and basketball practices, as Danny Tommie coaches on the middle school level. His mother, Sherri, coaches soccer.

Will Tommie said how things came together, the different steps, finding a role, it didn’t really surprise him.

“It’s been kind of a roller coaster,” Will Tommie said. “I transferred from a Division II school. Left a full ride there. Came for an opportunity. Been working really hard at practice and finally got my opportunity and took advantage.”

This story was originally published November 28, 2018 at 12:45 PM.