Building the RTR 200: Who are the best Clemson football players of all-time?
By John Chancey
Put some respect on the kicking specialists
Kickers and punters take a lot of grief, until you need three points to send a game to overtime, or you need to pin the opponent back. Then you are miserable if you don’t have a good one.
I have major respect for these guys. In fact, seven of the RTR 200 are kicking specialists. That was about as far as I could go, but that doesn’t mean Clemson doesn’t have several more guys that deserve a nod.
Nelson Welch – Kicker, 1991-94: most field goals in Clemson history with 72.
Bob Paulling – Kicker, 1979-83: best field goal percentage (82.9%) in Clemson history with at least thirty attempts.
Jad Dean – Kicker, 2004-06: kicked six field goals against Texas A&M in 2005, tied for most in a game for a Clemson kicker.
Richard Jackson – Kicker, 2007-10: kicked six field goals against Boston College in 2009, tied for most in a game for a Clemson kicker.
Kevin Laird – Punter, 1995-98: second most punt yards of all-time, 8,842 yards
Cole Chason – Punter, 2003-06: third most punt yards of all-time, 8,780 yards
The punter with the most yards all-time for Clemson, who is clear of Laird by 3,253 yards, is in the RTR 200, and you can complain about that all you want, but you are wrong. 😉