Duke University placekicker Charlie Ham announced on Instagram Saturday morning that he intends to be a Georga Bulldog.
Ham is originally from Atlanta, having attended the Westminster Schools. He has one year of eligibility remaining. Ham was previously coached at Duke by Georgia assistant Kirk Benedict when Benedict served as Duke's special teams coordinator and recruiting coordinator. Benedict has been in Athens for the last two seasons and is now Georgia's special teams coordinator.
Ham was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award in 2020. He will likely take over kickoff duties after former Georgia Kicker Jared Zirkel transferred to Texas A&M
Ham will be a walk-on at Georgia.
Here is his bio as listed on his Duke University players page:
2023: Returning placekicker ... in 34 games (29 starts), has totaled 199 points on 36-of-50 (.720) FGs and 91-of-93 (.978) PATs ... has kicked off 148 times for 8,782 yards (59.34) with 74 touchbacks against four boots out of bounds ... registered a career-long 50-yard FG against Northwestern in 2021 ... has made a career-high three FGs on four occasions against Syracuse (2020), Northwestern (2021), Louisville (2021), and Temple (2022) ... kicked a career-high seven successful PATs on two occasions against Kansas (2021) and North Carolina A&T (2022) ... holds 19 games with 7+ points, including a career-high 12 against Syracuse (2020), Northwestern (2021) and Temple (2022) ... has played 293 career snaps ... enters 2023 ranking third in career PATs and tied for fifth in career FGs made on Duke’s chart ... has converted 75 consecutive PATs to sit third in program history ... sits just one point shy from becoming the sixth player in Duke lore to amass 200+ points.
2022: Academic All-ACC selection ... saw action in 10 games, making seven starts ... missed the Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech contests ... finished second on the team in points with 56 on 9-of-15 (.600) FGs and 29-of-29 (1.000) PATs ... added 62 kickoffs for 3,807 yards (62.96) with 41 touchbacks against one boot out of bounds ... converted on a season-long FG of 45 yards against Georgia Tech ... registered a year-high three made FGs (29, 37 & 38) against Temple ... finished a perfect 7-of-7 on PATs against North Carolina A&T ... earned a season-best 12 points on three FGs and three PATs versus Temple ... on the field for 107 snaps.
2021: Saw action and started in 11 games, missing the Virginia contest ... recorded a team-high 74 points on 14-of-20 (.700) FGs and 32-of-32 (1.000) PATs ... tallied 55 kickoffs for 3,211 yards (58.38) with 22 touchbacks against two boots out of bounds ... converted on a season-long FG of 50 yards against Northwestern ... registered a year-high three made FGs against Northwestern and Louisville ... selected the ‘Star of the Week’ by the Palm Beach Sports Commission Lou Groza Collegiate Placekicker Award on Sept. 20, 2021 after matching a career high of 12 points against Northwestern ... earned a season-best 7-of-7 PATs against Kansas ... compiled a year-best 12 points on three FGs and three PATs against Northwestern ... on the field for 110 snaps.
2020: Academic All-ACC selection ... semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award ... started all 11 games ... recorded a team-high 69 points on 13-of-15 (.867) FGs and 30-of-32 (.938) PATs ... ranked tied for second in the ACC and tied for 13th nationally with a 86.7 percentage on FGs ... finished tied for eighth in the ACC in FGs and FGs per game (1.18) ... converted on a season long FG of 47 yards against Virginia ... tallied 22 kickoffs for 1,384 yards (62.91) with 10 touchbacks against one boot out of bounds ... tabbed the ACC Specialist of the Week on Oct. 10 after converting FGs of 21-, 36- and 45-yards against Syracuse en route to a season-high 12 points ... season totals rank second all-time on Duke’s freshman single-season chart in both points and FGs, fourth in PATs and tied for fourth in FG percentage ... on the field for 71 snaps..
