Rare is the coaches news conference that starts with a question about the opposing team’s punter, but Georgia Tech’s Pressley Harvin is no ordinary punter, as Yellow Jackets fans know well. So it was that the first question that Clemson coach Dabo Swinney took at his Tuesday news conference was about the difficulty of returning Harvin’s high-hanging punts.
“It’s difficult. You just hope that he kicks it so far that he outkicks his coverage,” Swinney said. “He hangs it up there. It’s a real challenge to get a return. And it’s a challenge to field the ball. I mean, he can really launch it.”
Harvin ranks second nationally in punting average at 48.1 yards per punt, and the punt unit ranks seventh in net punting at 44.7 yards. Of his 19 punts, eight have traveled 50 yards or more and only three have been returned.
“It seems like he’s been there seven years,” Swinney said. “He is a great, great punter. Big, big leg.”
His accuracy is strong, as well, as Swinney might remember. Last season, with Tech punting from the Clemson 36 on a fourth-and-5, Harvin aimed for the front pylon of the end zone in hopes of pinning the Tigers deep. He was too good at his craft, as his punt hit the pylon on the fly for a touchback.
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