Adversity and Belief Fuel Clemson Tigers’ New Starting Punter’s Hot Start

Redshirt junior punter Jack Smith waited for his turn for three years to get an open opportunity to be the Clemson Tigers’ punter, and it was the internal belief that brought him to his goal.

The Saraland, Alabama, native even had to go through a punter competition with walk-on Will McClune and redshirt junior Robert Gunn III for the position, but Smith had belief in himself the entire time. When head coach Dabo Swinney told him he would be the starter on the Thursday before Clemson’s season opener against LSU, he practiced like it the entire time.

“He was like ‘Hey man, I’m going to give you a shot,’” Smith said on Wednesday, “and I was like ‘Alright man, that’s what I came here to do. I didn’t come here to ride the bench for four years.’”

Smith only punted five times for the Tigers before this season. In only two games, he averaged 44.5 yards a punt in his first six times in 2025. In all six seasons of Clemson’s previous punter, Aidan Swanson, he averaged 42.2 yards a kick.

It’s caught the attention of Swinney, as well, seeing the growth that the redshirt junior has had into the starting role.

“To me, the quiet positive in two games is our special teams,” he said after the Troy win. “I’m really proud of [Smith] and the job that he’s done for us the first couple of games.”

The change in production for Smith has been his change in mentality. He punted the ball three times a year ago, only allowing an average of 38 yards per kick. It’s been the development and guidance of special teams player development coach, Ryan Allen, who’s helped him out with in-game performance.

Allen was an eight-year NFL punter who, most notably, was the punter for the New England Patriots from 2013-18, winning three Super Bowl titles. He also won two Ray Guy awards, given to the top collegiate punter in the nation.

“When I went out there in the past three years, I was scared,” Smith said. “I had no idea what I was doing and it was mainly because I didn’t have a coach who I could lean on, who’s been to three Super Bowls, who’s had two Ray Guy awards, who knows success. He knows what it looks like.”

With the idea of the transfer portal always in the mix, the only time Smith thought about it was when Swanson came back for his sixth year, calling it a “little speck” of speculation. Similarly to many players who decide to stay at Clemson, the punter admired Swinney’s belief in him, which led him to want to return the favor.

“I’m going to stay bought into him because he bought into me,” Smith said. “It’s paid off, for sure, but [I’ve] got to keep stacking days. Consistency is the main thing for me. I’ve done it for two games, but two games isn’t anything.”

Smith also could’ve not gone to a school to play football, either. If he wasn’t on a full-ride scholarship, he wasn’t going to play, as his mother had recently fought thyroid and breast cancer.

His brother went to college as well, meaning there were other student loans on the table.

“The medical bills are piled on top of them, and I was like, ‘Hey, I’m not going to put even more on top of y’all,’ and he didn’t like that,” Smith said. “Like I said earlier, it’s God’s will, not mine, so it all worked out.”

Instead of punting for Clemson against Georgia Tech this weekend, he could’ve been in a trade school instead, working as a welder or at a paper mill, which his friends all ended up doing. It was punting or going into a trade, and Smith chose football.

“It was either that or get really good at punting,” Smith said, “so I got really good at punting.”

Now, the punter is living his dream at a top school in the country, something that he never dreamed of happening, but something that will continue to motivate him to be the best that he can be.