Super Senior Spotlight: Clemson Punter Will Spiers, Perseverance Personified

Imagine, being the son of a Clemson baseball and football legend and following in the big shoes of Bradley Pinion and Andy Teasdall,

Will Spiers would be faced with that daunting task. Living up to the expectations of others can be difficult. It’s as if Spires was just expected to continue where those before, left off. That had to be frustrating. Like all incoming freshman, he just needed time and patience.

Spiers attended a small private school in Calhoun County, South Carolina. He was an excellent quarterback and punter. I know from personal experience, the jump from a small town private school to a major college can be difficult and I wasn’t an athlete. Young Spiers had a big leap to take.

He struggled at times, all high profile players do. However, the worth of a man is gauged by the way he handles those struggles and he did. After redshirting his first season, he would spend that year under the tutelage of senior, Andy Teasdall. He was your typical, 18 year old freshman. He just needed time to develop, to grow into his roll, but that would take a while.

As the seasons went by, Spiers steadily improved. He would most likely tell anyone that would listen that there were those games that tried this young man’s will but he persevered. Over his Clemson career, he has amassed a pretty impressive list of records..

This season, through grit, determination and perseverance and under the supervision of his coach and father, Will Spiers has become a real weapon. In the Syracuse game, he fell back on his quarterback skills during a fake punt. He calmly dropped back to find a wide open Davis Allen for the needed first down yardage to continue a drive. It was a beautiful play.

Originally a walk-on, he earned a scholarship en route to becoming a five-year starter at punter. Spiers entered 2021 having averaged 41.4 yards on 229 career punts in 56 career games (all starts). His 56 career games played prior to 2021 were already tied for ninth-most in school history. Even before the 2021 season, he already held the school record for starts by a punter (56), career punts (211), punts downed inside the 20 (81) and total punting yards (9,483).

Though at times, in past seasons, inconsistency was his Achilles heel, he continued to try to be the best version of himself. As he leaves Clemson, he can do so in the knowledge, he’s done his job and all those grand expectations he lived under for several of his early years, have been met. He’s a shining example of the saying, “Where there’s a Will, there’s a way.” Thanks Will, it’s been a great ride.