Tag: Chandler Catanzaro

Clemson football all-time roster: Coaches, kickers and specialists

See which coaching and special teams legends made the cut in our all-time Clemson football roster.

A program with a long, rich history, Clemson has seen a lot of great teams with a lot of incredible talent over the years as the program has developed into a marquee name in college football.

As our all-time rosters wind down, the final part is a look at the best of the best special teams players and the coaches that have been a part of Clemson football. 

From one of the most exciting special teams players in ACC history in C.J. Spiller to a pair of national championship-winning head coaches, the Tigers have seen incredible success from both the special teams unit and the coaches that helped make the program so special. 

Here’s a look at our choices for the special teams starters and the coaches on Clemson football’s all-time roster.

See Clemson’s all-time offense and all-time defense. 

Check out our other College Wire all-time lineups: Alabama / Arkansas / Auburn / Colorado / Florida / Georgia / Iowa / LSU / Michigan / Nebraska / North Carolina / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / USC / Wisconsin

Saints try out a pair of free agent kickers, work out LS John Denney again

The New Orleans Saints worked out longtime Dolphins long snapper John Denney, Chandler Catanzaro, and former Vikings kicker Blair Walsh.

The New Orleans Saints have taken a lot of hits in recent weeks, losing linebacker Kwon Alexander and wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith to injured reserve (and that’s before running back Alvin Kamara landed on the COVID-19 reserve list), but their interest in available free agents has been limited to the game’s third phase.

A trio of specialists, two kickers and a long snapper, tried out for New Orleans on Friday, per the daily NFL wire. Here’s what’s up with each of them:

Vikings have another tryout with a kicker

See the Minnesota Vikings’ latest tryout with a kicker!

The Vikings have a kicking problem.

Kicker Dan Bailey missed three field goals and one extra point in the loss to the Buccaneers. This week, Minnesota announced that it was releasing a practice squad kicker: Tristan Vizcaino.

With how bad the Vikings have been at kicking recently, it’s not a huge shock that the team is looking at other options.

Based on the NFL transactions wire, that appears to be the case. Earlier this week, the Vikings reported a tryout with kicker Taylor Bertolet and now the team has another one.

Here is the Vikings latest tryout, per the transaction wire:

Panthers coach Matt Rhule says he’s ‘comfortable’ with K Joey Slye

Despite appearances, head coach Matt Rhule told the media today via Zoom that he’s “comfortable” with Joey Slye.

The Carolina Panthers brought in three free agent kickers for visits during their bye week. That list included Louie Zervos, Lirim Hajrullahu and Chandler Catanzaro, who spent some time with the 2018 team.

Despite appearances, head coach Matt Rhule told the media today via Zoom that he’s “comfortable” with Joey Slye.

Slye missed a 54-yard kick late against the Vikings, dropping his field goal rate to 77.4% and his record on 50+ yard kicks to just 1/6 in 2020.

The stats don’t sound great, but they also don’t tell the full story. It’s not like Slye has been lining up from 51-53 yards each time. In fact, he’s been asked to kick multiple times from 65 or more yards.

Fans may be impatient for a change, but that might not be the best idea. Remember, Slye is still only 24 years old and has demonstrated excellent range. Just last season, Slye was 8/11 on attempts of 50 or more yards.

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Panthers hosted Chandler Catanzaro, 2 other free agent kickers for visits

Yesterday, the team brought in three free agent kickers for visits. Here is a look at who came in.

Kickers are nothing if not streaky. At the moment, Joey Slye seems to be in a bit of a rut. In Sunday’s loss to the Vikings, the Panthers’ kicker missed what would have been a game-winning 54-yard field goal, bringing his percentage for the season down to 77.4%. That’s lower than his rookie year.

Yesterday, the team brought in three free agent kickers for visits. Here is a look at who came in.

Chandler Catanzaro

The big name and the only real potential threat to Slye is Catanzaro, who  has played 77 games in the NFL, including four with the Panthers back in 2018. He made all five of his field goal attempts and seven of eight extra points during that run. For his career, he’s 83.8% on field goals and 92.9% on XPs.

Lirim Hajrullahu

The next candidate comes via the CFL. Hajrullahu spent the last two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats after two years with the Toronto Argonauts. In 72 games, he’s connected on 91.7% of his field goals, including 14 of 16 from 50 yards or more. He’s 134/143 on extra points (93.7%).

Louie Zervos

Last but not least, Zervos is a product of Ohio, where he put together an impressive college career. Zervos made 73 of 90 field goal attempts (81.1%) and 218 of 224 extra points (97.3%).

Most likely the idea isn’t for any of them to replace Slye. Instead, they could be in the running for the emergency kicker spot that has changed hands a few times this season. Lately, it’s been Taylor Bertolet, who was released again a few days ago.

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Giants officially sign DT Daylon Mack

The New York Giants have officially signed defensive tackle Daylon Mack, a fifth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2019.

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The New York Giants met with defensive tackle Daylon Mack over the weekend and immediately had him undergo a physical and prepare for COVID-19 testing.

On Monday, everything apparently checked out as the Giants officially announced that Mack had signed his contract. And in a corresponding roster move that has additional implications, released kicker Chandler Catanzaro.

“I appreciate what Chandler did for us. I have a lot of respect for him,” head coach Joe Judge told reporters. “He’s definitely an NFL kicker. I think he made the right decision coming out of retirement.

“We were lucky enough to have exposure to him for a small window of the season, and I wish him luck along the way.”

Meanwhile, a fifth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in the 2019 NFL Draft, Mack appeared in just one game as rookie, failing to log a tackle on just nine snaps. He was placed on injured reserve in November and then waived earlier this month.

Mack was claimed off of waivers by the Detroit Lions a day after his Ravens release, but that stop was also short-lived. The 6-foot-1, 340-pound Mack was waived with a failed physical just five days later (hip, knee).

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Report: Giants release kicker Chandler Catanzaro

The New York Giants have released kicker Chandler Catanzaro just days after coming to terms with Graham Gano.

Kicker Chandler Catanzaro was not present during New York Giants practice on Monday — the first padded practice of the year — and now we know why.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Giants have released Catanzaro due to the arrival of Graham Gano, who agreed to terms over the weekend and is going through COVID-19 testing.

The Giants signed Catanzaro in late July following the release of Aldrick Rosas, who was charged three misdemeanors, including reckless driving on a highway, hit-and-run property damage and driving on a suspended license stemming from an accident in June.

At the time, Catanzaro appeared destined to handle the starting job in East Rutherford, but then came the addition of Gano.

While it was originally thought the Giants would allow Catanzaro and Gano compete for the starting job, it became immediately evident that with trimmed down rosters, spots are at a premium.

Rather than holding onto two kickers for the next several weeks, the Giants opted to keep Gano and let Catanzaro, who had previously retired from football, test the free agent waters.

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Giants practice report: Daniel Jones, C.J. Board impress

New York Giants QB Daniel Jones and WR Corey Coleman were among those to impress during Monday’s practice.

The New York Giants claimed wide receiver C.J. Board off of waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars over the weekend, and it took him no time at all to make his presence felt.

During the team’s first padded practice of the year, Board stood out, hauling in impressive touchdowns catches off the arm of quarterback Colt McCoy.

As ESPN’s Jordan Raanan alludes, practice under first-year head coach Joe Judge was fast-paced and intense. In fact, it was the exact sort of “max effort” the Giants’ staff has told the players to get used to.

And it’s clear an emphasis will be placed on ball security.

In addition to McCoy and Board, second-year quarterback Daniel Jones and wide receiver Corey Coleman each shined on Monday.

Jones looked calm, cool and accurate throughout much of the day. He did throw one interception that would have been returned for a touchdown (Darnay Holmes), but that was only errant pass of practice.

Coleman, meanwhile, looked healthy and his routes crisp. His best catch of the day came off the arm of Jones.

NJ Advance Media reports that cornerback Grant Haley did not practice on Monday after being injured on Friday. The injury is considered minor and Haley is expected back on Tuesday.

Haley was blind-sided during Friday’s practice, multiple individuals with knowledge of the situation tell NJ Advance Media, and was held out of Monday’s practice out of an abundance of caution. He could be back as early as Tuesday.

Finally, kicker Chandler Catanzaro did not get much work in on Monday as the team stayed away from kicking drills.

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2020 Giants training camp: Position battles to watch

As the New York Giants ready themselves for padded training camp practices, here are some key positional battles to watch.

Every summer brings NFL training camps and every training camp has their share of roster battles.

With a new coaching staff and a load of new faces to pit against some unproven old faces, the New York Giants’ camp will have quite a number of battles for key positions this year.

AP Photo/Roger Steinman

Offensive tackle

Nate Solder was going to have to prove that he was still left tackle timber this summer before he opted out for the season. So, left tackle was very much in play. Now, it’s their priority.

The Giants are hopeful that first round pick Andrew Thomas slides right in and starts from Day 1. That could still happen. He’ll have plenty of company, though. Third round pick Matt Peart will now be thrust into the mix for the left tackle spot as well.

Right tackle is even more wide open. The loser of the left tackle role will have to fend off veteran free agent Cam Fleming and the Giants’ everyman, Nick Gates. These are the two biggest question marks of the summer.

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2020 Giants training camp preview: Special teams

The New York Giants will have many new faces on special teams in 2020, so what can we expect from the unit?

The New York Giants saw an improvement to their special teams unit under Thomas McGaughey in 2019, which is why it should come as little surprise that first-year head coach Joe Judge, a long-time special teams coach, opted to have him return.

Judge places a heavy emphasis on the importance of special teams, so don’t think for a second the Giants will slack in that area.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that there will be several major changes and a little uncertainty as the team enters training camp.

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Kicker

Chandler Catanzaro is the kicker right now, but how long that lasts is anyone’s guess. The bottom line is that the Giants had to add someone to kick the ball following the release of Aldrick Rosas, and with no tryouts to be had, Catanzaro was the best immediate option.

Catanzaro initially signed with the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent out of Clemson following the 2014 NFL Draft. He stayed with the team through the 2016 season.

In 2017, Catanzaro spent a season with the Jets before spending time with both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers in 2018.

Catanzaro returned to Gang Green briefly in 2019, but unexpectedly announced his retirement five months after signing. He remained on the team’s reserve/left squad until being released last week.

In 77 career games, Catanzaro has connected on 83.8% of his field-goal attempts and 92.9% of his point-after attempts.

Don’t expect Catanzaro to be the only kicker to stroll through East Rutherford this summer.

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