By Heath Bradley.

Spencer Benton, who has handled the kickoff duties for the Tigers the past three seasons, is firmly in a battle to add another starting role to his duties. Benton is deadlocked with true freshman Bradley Pinion for the starting punter duties for the 2012 season.

For Benton finding the perfect consistency is the goal for this fall camp. He feels that if he can be the most consistent option that will put him a good position to be the starter entering the season. Ten days into fall camp, Benton feels that he is right on track to being the most consistent he can be.

“It is going well. I feel like competition definitely brings out the best or worst in you. It is just a day-by-day process, trying to come out with the most consistency. Being consistent day in and day out so we can be compete on a national level,” said Benton.

Many people may feel that the best punter is the player who can kick the ball the farthest. This is not necessarily the case. The distance of the punt as well as its hang time must be perfect mix, so that the punter must find what works best for the punt coverage team.

“The perfect punt is 45 yards with 4-5 second hang time. You don’t want to be too far with too little hang time or to short with too much hang time. You want to even out that ratio, the best as possible,” said Benton.

Benton worked hard this summer to improve his technique in hopes of becoming more consistent. Technique plays the largest role in being consistent on the field so Benton made it a priority this summer to work on items that affected his technique as a punter. “I worked a lot this summer on my technique. The biggest thing right now is my get off time, working on getting faster there. I am trying to eliminate my first jab step, trying to become a true two-step punter. I got some good work in today that seemed to help out a lot.” Benton also credits the time he was able to work with former Clemson punter Dawson Zimmerman in helping him improve his own game. “I worked a lot with Dawson Zimmerman last year and this spring. He was still around so I got to work with him a bunch. Watching a guy at that level punt. Mentally you can picture that, and that carries over onto the field.”

While this is one of the more heated position battles on the field currently for the Tigers, Benton understands that both players have one goal. That goal is helping the Tigers to victory this season.

“I commend him, he is pushing me and I am pushing him. It is great competition. It is friendly; he is a great guy, it is all positive,” said Benton.