A different kind of football for punter

AUBURN - Clinton Durst remembers watching Auburn from the Jordan-Hare Stadium stands last year, thinking he could contribute as a punter.

At the time, Durst had never before played football. He was instead focused on following his brother, Justin Durst, who played one year in Major League Soccer.

Yet, when Durst watched Auburn play as a fan last year, he started envisioning himself in a football uniform.

"I sat in the stands and said, 'Hey, I'm going to be out there next year,' " Durst said. "I played soccer, and I knew I could kick a ball. I was like, 'I'm just going to go out and see what I can do.' "

So last fall, Durst started going to Auburn's intramural fields, where he practiced his punting. As his skill improved, he decided he would pursue football.

Before spring practice began, Durst sat down with Auburn assistant Andy Lutz.

"He probably looked at me and laughed, like, 'Hey, this is Auburn,' " Durst said. "He said he'd talk to Coach (Tommy Tuberville). Coach Tubs said they'd give me a shot, and I came out."

It's not as if Auburn needed more punters.

Ryan Shoemaker performed very well as a freshman and was named a preseason first-team all-SEC punter this year. When Shoemaker was injured against South Florida, Patrick Tatum filled in and averaged 43 yards per punt.

Still, Durst decided to walk on during the spring. It didn't take long for him to realize he belonged after he caught the coaches' attention early in the spring.

"I guess they thought I'd go out there and they'd be like, 'Hey, this is another kid trying to walk on,' " Durst said. "I guess I thought the same thing. But through spring, I averaged good, and the first couple practices, they were like, 'This kid might have potential; let's pay attention to him.' "

They haven't been able to stop paying attention.

Durst has pushed Shoemaker for the job throughout preseason camp. He has worked with the first team for the last couple weeks and is listed as a co-starter on the depth chart.

"Hang time (is) what we're looking for, and Durst, right now, has an edge on that," Auburn special teams coach Eddie Gran said. "(Experience) plays a role, but the one thing we've done this camp is we've put our punters in game-like situations. We've put Durst in all those positions."

Nothing has affected Durst so far, but he's never played any sport in front of nearly 90,000 screaming fans. He has, however, played soccer in Brazil before approximately 30,000 fans.

Durst said he still expects to be nervous before booming his first collegiate punt. When the season starts, though, Durst will be exactly where he said he would be last fall - playing for Auburn.

"I said, 'I think I can do this,' " he said. "I don't know. I'm confident, but not overconfident. I was like, 'I think I can do this. I'm going to give it a shot and see what happens.' "