Clemson returns its punter, Jimmy Maners, for his senior season. But the incumbent will have more than a run for his money to even start in his final year for the Tigers.
Enter Dawson Zimmerman, one of the nation's elite recruits at the position.
"I'd like to think that going in, hopefully I can win the job," Zimmerman told Tigerillustrated.com Saturday afternoon. "The coaches will get a chance to see us side by side so they can get a real good comparison. I just need to improve on my consistency. Eight out of 10 punts for me are good punts right now."
"If I can keep my get-off time at 1.3 seconds, my hand time at 4.65 seconds and a distance of 46-47 yards, all things I have been doing lately, then I should be fine," he added.
The Sneville (GA) Brookwood product could be on the verge of capturing a starting spot given a strong showing in fall camp.
"Unless he mentally breaks down, and I don't see him doing that, I don't see why he wouldn't be the guy there," noted Mike McCabe, the founder of 'One-on-One Kicking.' "Most of our kids that come to our camp become freshmen All-Americans. We believe he's ready to start at Clemson."
Reason for this stems from the signee's continued improvement. The Peach State product just returned from a three-week training session in Birmingham (AL) .
"He's pounding the football, crushing it," the kicking instructor stated. "He didn't hit anything under 4.4 seconds."
Getting stronger was just part of the trip to the Yellowhammer State.
"We did a lot of weight training, but the goal wasn't to get huge, but rather prepare for when I arrive at Clemson so I wouldn't have any initial soreness," the 6-foot-2, 197-pounder detailed. "We worked on my consistency with my drop, my flexibility, directional punting and game situations."
McCabe put the youngster through a strenuous mental and physical challenge to simulate game situations.
"We had Dawson in a helmet and pads and put a soccer goal post, that's eight-feet high, five yards in front of him," entailed the former Illinois State standout. "We snapped it to him, had guys coming off the corners, guys waving bags in front of him and blew off a fog horn right before his release. It's the worst possible environment and will prepare him for when he plays in front of 80,000 people."
"He has to get the ball off under two seconds and .7 comes from the snap," the coach continued. "He was doing that and getting off some bombs, all working under those parameters."
The 2008 recruit enrolled on Sunday. Achieving balance remains his biggest challenge right now.
"There's a lot of mental stuff, trying to keep school going with the added stress of football and the pressure of trying to get the starting job," the touted student-athlete admitted. "(Tight ends) coach (Billy) Napier said the biggest thing for me is to hit punts with good hang time. He's been stressing that, because if you hit a line drive that's 55 yards the return guy gets it right away and will get 20 yards before anyone touches him. That amounts to a 35-yard punt."
The freshman will also provide competition for Mark Buchholz as the kickoff specialist.
"We've been practicing on that and it's been going very well," the state of Georgia product exclaimed. "I'm getting about 3.9 seconds of hang time and they are averaging about three yards deep into the end zone."
The special teams weapon rooms with Dalton Freeman, Jon Richt and Matt Sanders.
"I've met all of them before and they all are nice guys," the punter stated. "I think Da'quan Bowers will play for sure of all of the freshmen this year and so will Matt Skinner. He's going to be a great snapper."
Looking back at the recruitment process, obtaining the tender at the Tommy Bowden Camp last summer, which led to his commitment, stands out.
"Getting the offer was the best, that was the beginning to all of this," he said. "The official visit was a good time, too."
Zimmerman helped Brookwood to three region championships and a state title appearance. The strong-legged athlete was named the Class 5A All-State punter by Georgia Sports Writers and the First-Team All-State punter by Atlanta Journal-Constitution as well as being named the Gwinnett County Touchdown Club Specialist of the Year.
As a junior, he had a 41.0 yard average per punt and booted a Brookwood-record 74-yard punt, a mark previously held by current Denver Broncos kicker Jason Elam.
The current Tiger also drove 81-percent of his kickoffs for touchbacks.
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