By Hale McGranahan.

Ammon Lakip admitted that something wasn’t right when he took the field at Doak Campbell Stadium.

It was him.

“I never felt actually nervous, but more or less distracted,” he said. “FSU is a pretty distracting stadium, as you can imagine, but no excuses. I can learn from it. That’s all I can do.”

In the 23-17 overtime loss to Florida State, Lakip missed two field goals and was pulled from place kicking duties in the fourth quarter.

During practice in the week leading up to the UNC game, he had to win the job back over Bradley Pinion, who’s handled the punting and most of the kickoff duties this season.

“Bradley and I pushed each other,” Lakip said. “Field goals, he was nipping at my heels. That’s what it should be like.”

Former Clemson kicker Chandler Catanzaro, who’s now a rookie with the Arizona Cardinals, offered Lakip some words of encouragement when he was at Clemson’s practice last Thursday.

“We talked a little bit. He just said you’re on an island out there. You can’t control the fans or what anybody else says. You can’t control even if you’re not the starter,” Lakip said. “You’ve just got to work and trust in your process. That’s what I did.”

Lakip was money when Clemson returned to Death Valley to play North Carolina. He hit both field goals (27, 45) and knocked in all five extra-points in the 50-35 win over the Tar Heels.

“Yeah, I mean, it definitely feels good,” Lakip said. “Like I’ve said before, it’s just my job. Last week, I missed a few, a couple, but I never lost confidence in myself. I just went back to work (last) week.

“I was told at the beginning of the week that I wasn’t the starter. I just carried that chip on my shoulder going into Saturday.”

It wasn’t an easy week for the junior from Johns Creek, Georgia.

“I guess you could say I hit rock, rock bottom on Saturday,” Lakip said. “But, I mean, when you’re down, you find out what you’re truly made of. I got back to work and continued to do my job.”