Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney knew from the start that Clemson kicker Greg Huegel, also known as the “grocery store kicker,” was capable of kicking more than cans around a grocery store parking lot.

Being thrown right into the fire as a walk-on after senior starter Ammon Lakip was suspended for three games to start last season, Huegel became a major asset to the Tigers in 2015.

“It affected me a lot mentally somewhat last year just because I was the new guy on the team and I really had to prove myself,” Huegel said following Monday’s practice. “I hate letting people down no matter the situation in football or outside of football. It affected me a lot.”

Huegel was far from letting anyone down last season as he set a Clemson single-season scoring record with 138 points and led the Football Bowl Subdivision with 27 field goals.

Now that he has made a name for himself, Huegel is taking on the new season with a different mindset.

“In terms of approaching the season differently than I did last year, last year was all nerves so I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “No one knew who I was, so there was zero expectations, so now it’s just handling the expectations people have this year.”

The redshirt sophomore said he has made some major improvements since last season starting with his mental game. Huegel found a way to help put his mind at ease.

“I did yoga over the summer to help with flexibility and mind control, meditation, stuff like that,” he said. “Ever since fall camp started, and we have gotten more into preseason, I have focused more on meditation. Just controlling your breath whenever you are in pressure situations.”

Now entrenched as a starter, Huegel has taken full advantage of the team’s strength program and has been able to vastly increase his leg strength.

“In terms of quantifying it, I would say the off-season workout plan they have us on. Last year, I kind of worked out on my own because I wasn’t on the team yet for the summer,” the kicker said.

In terms of improving his kicking game, the confidence Huegel built from last season has motivated the sophomore into taking a whole new approach this upcoming season.

“One thing to focus on extra points in terms of the short stuff. Just approaching every single kick the same whether is is an extra point or a field goal,” he said. “Like I said, my mindset was different last year and it can’t be that. Your extra point, you should kick the exact same as a 47-yard field goal. I am just trying to keep that consistent mind.”

Keeping this consistent approach, Huegel has been able to learn and  adjust to the different roles he has as a kicker.

“I would say I have improved a lot just because the main difference between field goals and kickoffs is that with field goals your main concern is accuracy,” he said. “You are like okay, ‘If it barely goes in, it’s still three points.’ With kickoffs it’s kind of the opposite. You want to have a little but less accuracy and just go all out on the kick. So, it’s just like a different mindset.”

As the new season awaits, the “grocery store kicker” has been satisfied with his performance during the preseason, and you could say he has made great strides since those days when he was seen kicking a can around a grocery store parking lot.