CLEMSON — Nolan Hauser is currently in the process of having the best season ever by a Clemson kicker.

Currently, the junior is 15 of 16 thus far on his field goal attempts, including 8 of 9 from 40-yards or more. He is 2-for-2 from 50-plus yards, including last week’s 59-yard field goal against Charleston Southern – the second longest kick in Clemson history.

Hauser is on pace to break Greg Huegel’s 27 successful kicks in 2015, which he accomplished in a 15-game season. Hauser’s 93.8 percent accuracy is just behind Chandler Catanzaro’s 94.7 percent accuracy (18-19) in 2012.

His 15-made field goals rank second in the country and leads the ACC heading into Saturday’s ACC showdown with Virginia Tech.

Question: Your thoughts on Coach (Dabo) Swinney tossing up grass to evaluate the wind before his 59-yard field goal?

Answer: “He’s kind of a golfer, so I think that’s like a thing they do in golf is toss up the grass to see the wind. It was kind of like a windy day. You didn’t really know where it was going, but I think he just wanted to like reassure some confidence and I think that’s what he did, threw it up and was like, ‘Hey, you ready?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah.’ He was like, ‘Let’s do it.’ And then we ran out there and kicked it, but it was just like an added little confidence boost for me.”

Question: Did you know he was lying to you? He said on the radio that he threw it up to make it seem like you were kicking the wind, but he didn’t really.

Answer: “So, we were doing post-practice kicks yesterday and he told me that he was lying to me. He was like, ‘I did put a little ump on it like forward’ and I was like ‘of course.’”

Question: It feels like you’re kicking with an all-time level of confidence right now. Do you feel that way?

Answer: “I give credit to everybody in front of me and the coaches as well. Coach (Rich) Bisaccia has been a huge confidence boost for me and Coach (Ryan) Allen, as well, coming from the league. Both of them have a lot of experience with kickers. So, I think that that was an added confidence for me coming into the season.”

Question: How has Coach Bisaccia helped you this year?

Answer: “He just he gives a lot of intel and things that he’s seen in the league. So, you know, just like sitting down with me after a practice. Like I have a bad practice in the spring or I have a bad practice in the fall, just being able to sit down and be like, ‘Okay, you’re really close to mastering it.’ But what he likes to say is ‘master it in yourself. Get a masters in yourself.’ So, like not listening to, too much, not trying to change too much, but knowing what is going wrong and why it’s going wrong. Because, again, he’s seen everybody. He’s seen like bad plant foot. Like that’s an example. Like just like things like that, like small minute details that might throw off a kick or something like that is a big confidence boost because you can come off the field and go up to him and be like, ‘Hey coach, like what did you see?’ Or we go watch it ourselves and he’s like, ‘Teach me, what you see and tell me what you think went wrong in this.’ And like he’ll kind of back me on it. So, I think that’s like an added confidence going out on the field and knowing he’s got my back.”

Question: What is your maximum range?

Answer: “It just depends on the day. Going into the game (last) Saturday, I didn’t think 59 was possible going towards the hill, to be honest with you. I am warming up, and there was a lot of wind in my face going that way. Then towards the locker room, it was it was really with me. So, ‘Okay, I can kick from anywhere on the opposite side from anywhere on the field.’ I mean, that’s realistic going towards the locker room. It just depends on the day. I think it’s adrenaline, as well. So, I couldn’t really give you a number, but shoot, if the wind’s at my back, I can I can probably go pretty deep.”