June 23, 2008

Football: Jeff Wilkins' Return Highlights Upcoming Kicking Camp

    Youngstown – Former standout Youngstown State and NFL placekickers Jeff Wilkins and Paul McFadden will team up to host the Penguins' 2008 Kicking Camp which is set to be held July 7-8 at Stambaugh Stadium.

    Wilkins, who retired after a 14-year career in professional football in February, has not been able to attend the camp the past few years because of offseason workouts with the St. Louis Rams.

    The camp is $90 for commuters and $150 for individuals who wish to stay overnight on Monday. Fundamentals of kicking, both soccer style and conventional, as well as punting will be stressed. For information contact the football office at (330) 941-3478 or download a form HERE.

    Participants need to bring practice clothes, tennis or turf shoes, a football and kicking tees and extra-point blocks. For resident campers a pillow, sheets or sleeping bag, towels and toiletries.

    Residents will check-in from 9-10 a.m. on Monday at the Cafaro House while commuters check-in between 9:30-10 a.m. at Stambaugh Stadium. The camp will run all day until 8 p.m. and lunch and dinner will be served.

    On Tuesday, the camp begins at 8:30 a.m. and goes until 4 p.m. All participants will receive a t-shirt.

    Wilkins spent the final 11 seasons of his career playing for the Rams. He did not miss an extra point from 1998 through 2007 while scoring 1,416 career points. Wilkins scored a career-high 163 points with the Rams in 2003. That season he made a career-best 39 field goals in a career-high 42 tries. In 1999, he made 64-of-64 extra-point tries.

    He was part of a Super Bowl Champion as St. Louis won the Super Bowl XXIV in 2000. He was signed by the Eagles as an undrafted free agent after kicking for YSU from 1990-93. He spent two years with the San Francisco 49ers before becoming a mainstay for the Rams.

    McFadden also brings impressive credentials to the camp. A bare-footed specialist who was a two-time Pro Bowl selection, he played a total of six seasons in the NFL for three teams.
    McFadden amassed 520 points in his career, converting 160-of-165 point-after attempts and 120-of-175 field-goal tries. He began his career in Philadelphia scoring a team rookie record 116 points making 30-of-37 field-goal attempts. He was named the NFC’s Rookie of the Year and earned a spot in the Pro Bowl. He spent his first four years with Philadelphia before moving on to New York in 1988 and Atlanta in 1989. He was a 12th round draft pick originally by the Eagles.

   McFadden handled kicking duties for the Penguins from 1980-83.