With Calvin Austin III and Corliss Waitman, the Steelers are benefitting from some breakout special teams performances this season. While Waitman’s contributions are more subtle as a punter, Austin housed a 73-yard punt on Monday. According to the third-year receiver, however, he partially has Waitman to thank for that.
What separates Waitman from most punters is the fact that he is left-footed. The way most people are right-handed, most are also right-footed, so a left-footed punter provides a different challenge. Appearing on the Christian Kuntz podcast, Austin explained how fielding Waitman’s punts forced him to hone his fundamentals. And how it presented problems when he initially started working with Waitman.
“I was dropping some. I wasn’t comfortable”, Austin said, referring to his first practices with Corliss Waitman. “I had to really adjust and lock in. That definitely made it easier. Obviously, [you’re] catching from so many right-footed [punters] mostly your whole career, even in college. You could get work on that, but that’s almost just basics for me, fundamentals”.
The Steelers signed veteran P Cameron Johnston this offseason, hoping to solve their longstanding punting issues. He had been one of the most consistent punters in the NFL for years, but he suffered a season-ending injury early in the year. They then turned to Waitman, with whom they had worked previously, who has proven that he belongs—and not just because he has helped Calvin Austin work on his returns.
“But with Corliss [Waitman], the left-footed punter, it’s like, completely different”, Austin said. “It helps everything, just with tracking, seeing the ball and everything. It definitely brings a new element. Corliss is extremely consistent, too. I’m always getting a consistent type of ball that I can catch and work on”.
Corliss Waitman originally signed with the Steelers as a college free agent out of South Alabama in 2020. He spent parts of that season on the practice squad but played two games the following season when the team granted rookie Pressley Harvin III bereavement time. That was the year before the Steelers drafted Austin, so they never worked together.
A fourth-round pick in 2022, Calvin Austin spent his rookie season on the Reserve/Injured List. He took over the punt return duties the following season but struggled to crack a long return. Earlier in his interview on Kuntz’s podcast, he called that a source of frustration because it was the first time in his football life he didn’t have a long return for a score. So, if Corliss Waitman played any role in making that happen, I’m sure he is grateful.
In 2024, Waitman is averaging 46.8 gross yards per punt and 41.8 net yards. He is putting nearly 50 percent of his punts inside the 20-yard line, with only one touchback since he had three in his first game. Calvin Austin has 206 punt return yards on 16 returns, averaging 12.9 yards per return. He is only one of five players with a punt return touchdown so far this season.
