All spring and all summer, the talk at Clemson has been about its quarterbacks.

Since Trevor Lawrence stepped foot on campus in January, the freshmen has been pushing incumbent starter Kelly Bryant for the job. His talents have already run off last year’s backups in Zerrick Cooper and Hunter Johnson and he passed redshirt freshman Chase Brice on the depth chart this spring.

Lawrence will head into fall camp this August as the No. 2 quarterback on the Tigers’ preseason depth chart.

However, the quarterback battle between Bryant and Johnson is not the only competitive competition heading into camp. One can argue that it is not even the best one in camp.

The best competition, and definitely the one no one is talking about, is at placekicker where Alex Spence is trying to hold off two-year starter Greg Huegel.

Spence and Huegel, both seniors, head into fall camp listed as co-starters at kicker.

Spence took over for Huegel after he tore his ACL during a situational kick in practice. The injury occurred just days before the Tigers’ home game against Boston College in Week 4.

Spence struggled early on, forcing head coach Dabo Swinney to bring in walk-on kicker Drew Costa to push him for the job. The motivation worked as Spence slowly became more and more reliable. By the end of the year, he was kicking at a high level, including three straight makes from 46, 44 and 42 yards to close the season.

The senior scored the Tigers’ only points in the Sugar Bowl loss to Alabama. Spence finished the year 9-of-14 overall, but he made seven of his last eight kicks.

During the spring, Spence made a 51-yard field during one of the scrimmages.

“Alex Spence has been off the charts. I’m talking off the charts. It’s unbelievable,” Swinney said. “He looks the guy I recruited. He has been amazing.”

In his first two seasons at Clemson, Greg Huegel made 41-of-51 attempts, including 30-of-34 inside 40 yards.

By the end of the spring, Huegel returned to do some kicking in situational spots in practice and made a 46-yard field goal in one practice. In the spring game, Swinney had him kick from different spots so he could work his leg with 55,000 people watching.

Prior to the injury, Huegel was an All-American for the Tigers. He walked on in 2014 and became the starter by 2015. He made 27-of-32 kicks as a redshirt freshman. In 2016 he connected on 14 of 19 kicks and was a Lou Groza Award Semifinalist.

Huegel made at least one field goal in 18 straight games to start his career, while also setting a new Clemson standard. He is currently ranked first in Clemson history in points per game (8.2), third in extra points, fifth in kick scoring, eighth in field goals made and eighth in total scoring.

In his first two seasons at Clemson, Huegel made 41-of-51 attempts, including 30-of-34 inside 40 yards.

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