AUBURN | Gus Malzahn’s Auburn teams have produced a number of productive special team players over the past seven seasons. Here’s a look at the top five.
1. Daniel Carlson (2013-17)
Daniel Carlson rewrote the record books in his five years at Auburn. After a redshirt season in 2013, he went on to set SEC records with 480 points scored, 92 made field goals and 198 consecutive extra points. His 61.9 percentage on field goals of 50 or more yards is second-best in NCAA history, and he set an NCAA mark with seven games of making four or more field goals. He was also the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year twice in 2016 and 17, and a Lou Groza Award finalist three times. He was a second-team All-American as a sophomore and junior and first-team All-American as a senior. Carlson made 92 of 114 field goals (80.7 percent) including a long of 56 yards against Louisville as a sophomore. He was also AU’s punter in 2014 averaging 42.0 yards on 41 attempts and had 221 career touchbacks on 315 kickoffs. He had a 20-yard rushing touchdown against Arkansas State on a fake field goal. Carlson was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He was released by the Vikings after missing three field goals in his second NFL game, but picked up by the Oakland/Las Vegas Raider where he’s made 35 of 43 field goals over the past two seasons.
2. 2013
Auburn’s special teams were nothing short of fantastic in 2013, playing a key role in the Tigers winning an SEC Championship and coming up just short in winning a second national championship in four years. Cody Parkey made 15 of 21 field goals and scored 111 points, which is tied with Carlson for seventh in AU single-season history. He finished his career seventh in both field goals made and scoring at AU. Steven Clark averaged 42.6 yards per punt as a senior to wrap up a career in which he ranks third in punts and fourth in punt yardage at Auburn. Chris Davis averaged 18.7 yards per punt return, which led the SEC and is second in AU single-season history. His 100-yard missed field goal return to win the Iron Bowl, known as the Kick Six, is one of the most iconic plays in college football history. Tre Mason led the SEC with a 26.3 kick return average including a 100-yard return for a touchdown against Washington State. The Tigers had a school-record 312 return yards at Tennessee, which included a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Corey Grant and an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown by Davis.
3. Arryn Siposs (2018-19)
Arryn Siposs, a former Australian Rules Football player, joined Auburn from Pro Kick Australia and immediately won the starting job in 2018. He averaged 44.1 yards per punt as a freshman, which ranked 18th nationally, and 43.8 yards as a sophomore. He averaged 44.0 yards during his two-year career, which ranks second in school history. He had 21 punts of 50 or more yards and 33 downed inside the 20-yard line. Siposs declared for the NFL Draft after his sophomore season and signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Lions in April.
4. Kevin Phillips (2015-16)
Kevin Phillips signed with Auburn out of junior college in 2015 and served as the staring punter for two seasons. His 41.6 career punting average ranks eighth all-time in school history. He had 17 career punts of 50 or ore yards including a career-best 68-yarder against Clemson in 2016. A total of 31 of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. He averaged 41.0 yards per punt as a junior and upped that to 42.3 as a senior. Phillips was also on the SEC Academic Honor Roll both years at AU.
5. Anders Carlson (2017-19)
Anders Carlson redshirted as Daniel’s backup in his first year before becoming the starter in 2018. He made 15 of 25 field goals as a freshman and 18 of 25 last season. He has 98 touchbacks in his first two seasons. He made all 44 extra points in 18 and helped Auburn set an NCAA record with 304 consecutive PAT before a miss at Arkansas last fall. Of his 17 misses, seven have come from 50 or more yards, although he made his only attempt from over 50 yards last year, finishing the regular season going 4 of 4 in an Iron Bowl win over Alabama with made field goals of 43, 52, 43 and 44 yards.
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