With training camp well underway, one of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ most intriguing special teams story lines is the development of punter Nik Constantinou. The Australian-born specialist, now entering his second CFL season, is showing noticeable improvement—and turning heads in the process.
Constantinou had some off-season tryouts with NFL teams, and has looked good in his second stint in a Ticat uniform. Lofting the ball a little higher and hitting ‘the numbers’ —placing the ball between the yardage numbers and the sideline—with more regularity.
After averaging 47.1 yards through 102 attempts in the 2024 season, Constantinou has proven that he can be one of the strongest punters in the league.
“He’s a weapon,” head coach Scott Milanovich said earlier in the week. “I don’t know if anybody in the league has a strong of a leg. What he needs to work on are some of the finesse parts of it, like location.
“I thought he looked great and we’re going to keep working on those little things.”
“And when we have a lead late in the game and they’re coming after the punt, making sure we’re getting it off quickly, things like that. There’s times where I’ve asked him to punt it out of bounds and it doesn’t get out of bounds.
Because the only thing that can hurt you is a return.
