CHARLOTTE — The Panthers signed undrafted rookie punter Joseph Charlton to a three-year deal on Wednesday.
Charlton was a record-setting punter at South Carolina, earning the top spot in program history with a 45.5-yard punting average. He set the single-season program record two years in a row, first with a 44.8-yard punt average in 2018 and followed it with a 47.7-yard average last season. His senior average went up nearly three yards despite punting 20 more times than he did as a junior. Charlton placed 28 punts inside the 20-yard line with just five touchbacks in 2019.
After redshirting in 2015 and backing up senior punter Sean Kelly in 2016, Charlton handled South Carolina's punting duties from 2017-19.
Charlton will remain close to home, having graduated from A.C. Flora High School in Columbia, S.C.
The Panthers now have two punters on their roster, Charlton and Michael Palardy, who has been Carolina's primary punter since 2016. Palardy owns a 45.3 yards per punt average. Last year, he averaged 46.0 yards on a career-high 74 punts.
