| WEB |
|
|
| ||||||||||||
One of the greatest kickers in Clemson history was Chris Gardocki. The left-footed kicker and punter was a prolific specialist who was named the 19th greatest football player in school history and selected to Clemson's Centennial team in 1996.
Gardocki set new standards for placekicking while at Clemson. He tied the ACC record for longest field goal with his 57-yarder in 1990 and set a conference mark with 107 points off of kicks during the 1989 season. He never missed a PAT attempt at Clemson and holds the record with 72 consecutive conversions.
The Stone Mountain, GA native was named a third-team All-American as a sophomore and a second-team choice as a junior for his placekicking. In addition, Gardocki was also a great punter. He was named an honorable mention All-American as a punter every season he was at Clemson. In his junior year, he ranked fourth in the nation in punting while also tying for fourth in placekicking. He is just the second player to finish in the top ten in both categories in the same season but is the first player to do it twice.
Gardocki accomplished all of his feats in just three years at the school. He applied for the NFL Draft after his junior year, a rarity for a kicker, and was drafted in the third round by the Chicago Bears.
Gardocki went on to become one of the top punters in the NFL, making the Pro Bowl in 1996. That year he was named to Clemson's Centennial football team. He was inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame in 2001.
