South Carolina football: Joseph Charlton signs NFL deal

Former South Carolina football player Joseph Charlton has signed a deal with the Carolina Panthers.

Former Gamecock punter Joseph Charlton has inked a deal with the Carolina Panthers after going undrafted in the 2020 NFL draft. The Columbia native was considered one of the nation’s top punters a year ago, after finishing second in the SEC in both punts and punting average.

Charlton is arguably the program’s greatest player at the position, having set the school mark for career punting average at 45.5 yards per attempt. He also owns the two highest single-season punting averages, setting the school record as a junior (44.8 yds/punt) before breaking his own mark as a senior (47.7 yds/punt).

Charlton had only one punt blocked in his 171 career attempts, and posted a Gamecock best 27 punts of at least 50 yards. Last year, the A.C. Flora product booted 68 punts for a total of 3,244 yards, pinning 16 inside the 20-yard line. Pro Football Focus named him second-team all-SEC, as well as an honorable mention All-American.

Charlton announced the news with a message via his Instagram account.

"“Truly an honor to be able to sign with the @panthers . Looking forward to getting to put in work for the team I grew up a huge fan of. KEEP POUNDING!”"

He joins a Carolina Panthers special teams unit that features kicker Graham Gano and punter Michael Palardy. Palardy, last season’s starter, landed 25 punts inside the 20-yard line, and projects to stay at the top of the depth chart in 2020, but Charlton could still see the field as a holder.

The Gamecocks will be faced with the undesirable task of replacing Charlton in 2020, and whomever takes the reins next year will certainly have a tough time matching his production.