All football fans realize that a punter is a necessary evil for the team. When a team punts, it means the offense failed. The fewer punts, the better. But if you’re going to punt, you might as well be good at it. Kai Kroeger made a national name for himself, and the South Carolina punt team, for that matter, during his career with the Gamecocks.
Wednesday, Clemson offered one of the nation’s elite punters for the 2026 class in Mikey Bukauskas (6-3 205) of Prosper, TX. Nine months ago, Bukauskas transitioned from a soccer player to a punter and placekicker. His emphasis, however, is on punting, and he is ranked #2 nationally after competing at Kohl’s Kicking.
Bukauskas visited Clemson on Tuesday and had a private workout for the staff inside Death Valley.
“I knew that I had to do my best, and God’s plan was going to happen,” Bukauskas said. “I went out there and did my thing. I try not to worry about it. I knew if I was going to get the offer, that was going to be God’s plan, and I trusted that. Lo and behold, we got the offer. It was a great experience. We really loved it.”
Bukauskas said Clemson special teams coach Mickey Conn through him through the paces to test him in all aspects of the punting game.
“I punted maybe 15 to 20 balls, and I was hitting it really good. It was enough to impress and get the offer,” Bukauskas said. “I know for a fact there was one ball that was over five seconds in hang-time. They were all forty-plus yards with high 4.8 hang-time. It was a really good day. We did a little bit of everything, pin them deep kind of thing, some end over end punts. On my last punt that we finished on, it went out at the one-yard line. That was a good one to end on.”
After returning to his home in Texas on Wednesday, Bukauskas got the call from the Tigers that he had earned his offer.
“We’re definitely high on Clemson and Texas,” Bukauskas said. “They are two of the best schools in the country, and really can’t go wrong with either one of them. We’ve got an official visit to Texas this week, and then we’re looking at setting up our official visit to Clemson here in the next few weeks as well. Hopefully, after those visits, we’ll announce a decision.”
Bukauskas has also kicked for coaches at Arkansas, Missouri, Pitt and SMU. The Mustangs have given him a preferred walk-on offer. He also has offers from Connecticut, Southern Miss and North Texas.