Jordan Berry’s career with the Pittsburgh Steelers can be described in one word, inconsistent. Mike Tomlin has openly voiced his frustration at times with the Steelers punter. The team has brought in some new competition for the position in the form of South Alabama punter Corliss Waitman. The fact that Kevin Colbert spent a good part of his undrafted free agent bonus pool on a punter is not insignificant. Berry will undoubtedly be in a fight for his job this off-season.
The player:
After a hugely successful career with South Alabama, Corliss Waitman had hoped to transfer to Mississippi St. and make up a redshirt season in the SEC. A hiccup with the NCAA prevented him from playing at all in 2019. That did not lessen interest from NFL teams in this talented punter. Those teams included the Pittsburgh Steelers. Special teams coach Danny Smith contacted Waitman several times during the off-season process before the team offered him a contract. https://weartv.com/sports/local-sports/persistence-lands-miltons-corliss-waitman-an-nfl-opportunity
Waitman has a big leg as you might expect from a punting prospect coming out of college. He averaged over 45 yards per punt during his junior season. It is his knack for getting kicks down inside the opponents twenty that sets him apart however. In 2017, he had a school record 26 kicks downed inside the twenty yard line. Waitman also led the Sun Belt Conference in punts of more than 50 yards with 21.
Another weapon in Waitmans arsenal is his kickoff abilities. He did double duty while in college as a punter and a kickoff specialist. Averaging over 60 yards a kick in his specialist role, Waitman also landed five touchbacks. The Steelers don’t have a glaring need for this kind of specialist. Chris Boswell ranked in the top half of the league in kickoff average. It is still nice to know there is an extra body who can do the job should Waitman make the roster.
The Conclusion:
It is now our prediction that Jordan Berrys rocky five year career with the Steelers will come to an end in 2020. While we did have him making the team in our first roster prediction, further investigation into Corliss Waitman has changed our mind. Way too early Steelers 53 man roster prediction
Kevin Colbert didn’t just take up valuable undrafted pool money to give Berry a little competition. The team clearly had interest in this punter for some time given he missed the entire 2019 season. Given Jordan Berrys inconsistency, and the fact the Steelers could save $1.8 million by releasing him, his time may very well be up in Pittsburgh. We predict that Corliss Waitman will be the Steelers punter in 2020 barring any injuries or unfoseen circumstances.