Jeff Wilkins
refer to caption
Wilkins in 2007
No. 14
Position:Placekicker
Personal information
Born: (1972-04-19) April 19, 1972 (age 51)
Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
Career information
High school:Austintown Fitch (Austintown, Ohio)
College:Youngstown State
Undrafted:1994
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Field goal attempts:375
Field goals made:307
Field goal %:81.9
Points scored:1,416
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Jeffrey Allen Wilkins (born April 19, 1972), nicknamed "Money",[1] is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles and St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL). With the Rams, he won Super Bowl XXXIV over the Tennessee Titans. He played college football for Youngstown State University. Wilkins is currently tied for second place all time in most consecutive PATs without a miss at 371.

Early life

Wilkins played for Austintown Fitch High School in the Austintown, Ohio suburb of Youngstown.

College career

At Youngstown State University, Wilkins made a school record 66 field goals, with a long of 54 (a school record).[2] While at Youngstown State, the Penguins won the 1991 and 1993 Division I-AA National Championships under future Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel. Wilkins was inducted in the YSU Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.[2]

Professional career

Wilkins signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1994, but played in just six games and did not attempt a single field goal or extra point. The following season, he joined the 49ers. While he only played in seven games, he had a superb season, kicking 12 of 13 field goals. In 1996, he finally saw duty as his team's full-time kicker and did not disappoint, kicking 30 of 34 field goals and all 40 extra point attempts.

In 1997, he joined the Rams, where he played the remainder of his career and became the team's all-time leading scorer. Wilkins assisted his team to a championship win in Super Bowl XXXIV, kicking three of four field goals and two extra points in the Rams 23–16 win over the Tennessee Titans. He also kicked a 50-yard field goal in the Rams 20–17 loss in Super Bowl XXXVI.

Some consider Wilkins to be the last player to kick barefoot in the NFL, doing so for the first seven games of the 2002 season. However, many years later, Wilkins told ESPN writer Sam Borden that he did not consider himself to have been a barefoot kicker because his kicking foot was so heavily taped as a short-lived attempt to fix his kicking woes, and that he himself did not consider himself among the lineage of barefoot kickers.[3]

In 2003, Wilkins kicked an NFL record-tying 39 field goals (then shared with former Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears kicker Olindo Mare), which stood until surpassed by Neil Rackers' 40 field goals in 2005.

In St. Louis' opening game of the 2006 season, Wilkins set a franchise record by kicking six field goals in their 18–10 win over the Denver Broncos. He also became the first Rams player ever to score over 1,000 points.

On November 11, 2007, Wilkins kicked his 300th career field goal against the New Orleans Saints. Wilkins announced his retirement from the NFL on February 29, 2008.[4]

NFL career statistics

Year Team GP Field Goals Extra Points Points
FGA FGM Lng Pct XPA XPM Pct
1994 PHI 6 0 0 — — 0 0 — 0
1995 SF 7 13 12 40 92.3 29 27 93.1 63
1996 SF 16 34 30 49 88.2 40 40 100.0 130
1997 STL 16 37 25 52 67.6 32 32 100.0 107
1998 STL 16 26 20 57 76.9 26 25 96.2 85
1999 STL 16 28 20 51 71.4 64 64 100.0 124
2000 STL 11 17 17 51 100.0 38 38 100.0 89
2001 STL 16 29 23 54 79.3 58 58 100.0 127
2002 STL 16 25 19 47 76.0 37 37 100.0 94
2003 STL 16 42 39 53 92.9 46 46 100.0 163
2004 STL 16 24 19 53 79.2 32 32 100.0 89
2005 STL 16 31 27 53 87.1 36 36 100.0 117
2006 STL 16 37 32 53 86.5 35 35 100.0 131
2007 STL 16 32 24 53 75.0 25 25 100.0 97
Career 200 375 307 57 81.9 498 495 99.4 1,416

References

  1. ^ "Linehan's offense does little, but kicker, defense dump Denver". September 10, 2006. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Jeff Wilkins | YSU Athletics Hall of Fame". Youngstown State University. Retrieved September 5, 2013. ((cite journal)): Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ^ Borden, Sam (October 21, 2022). "The secret identity of the NFL's last barefoot kicker". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  4. ^ "Wilkins retires as Rams' career scoring leader". ESPN. March 1, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2013. ((cite journal)): Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Categories