Lions to host punter Blake Clingan for tryout, according to report

The Detroit Lions are on the hunt for a new punter this offseason after not having any real success at the position last year. There is a lot of speculation that they may draft a punter this year, but that's far from their only option.

One possibility is to bring in an undrafted free agent, and it looks like the Lions are expressing some interest in going down that road. The draft isn't until April, of course, but the Lions are going to host an undrafted free agent from a couple years ago for a tryout, according to P.J. Fitzgerald.

@bclingan41 invited to tryout for the Detroit Lions tomorrow (3/5). Former UCF Punter, 6'3" 230lbs @draftscout @nfldraftbible @rapsheet #NFL

— P.J. Fitzgerald(@PJ_Fitzgerald) March 4, 2013

Blake Clingan was UCF's punter from 2007-10. He went undrafted in 2011 and hasn't played for any teams yet as far as I can tell. Fitzgerald reports that Clingan has been training in Florida. You can check out highlights from his time at UCF here and here.

Below is a look at Clingan's stats at UCF:

2007: 59 punts, 40.7 avg., long of 55
2008: 88 punts, 40.5 avg., long of 59
2009: 65 punts, 37.3 avg., long of 70
2010: 39 punts, 41.8 avg., long of 61

UPDATE: Dave Birkett reports that the Lions are having a workout for kickers, punters and long snappers on Tuesday, so Clingan won't be the only one trying out.