McFadden, Wilkins credit YSU

January 18, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Boardman

With the NFL season slowly winding down and the conference championships set for this weekend, it was only fitting that two highly successful players with local ties tell of their experiences playing at the game’s highest level while prepping for the ultimate game of all: the Super Bowl.

Paul McFadden and Jeff Wilkins, record-setting placekickers at both YSU and in the NFL, agreed to disagree on who will win this weekend and advance to the ultimate of professional games.

But speaking to the Curbstone Coaches during Monday’s weekly luncheon meeting at the Blue Wolf Banquet Center, McFadden and Wilkins agreed being a part of the YSU football family was special; noting how fortunate they feel that they were groomed for Sunday football by their respective mentors.

“I came to YSU to play soccer but was fortunate enough to win the kicking duties when coach [Bill] Narduzzi was looking for a new placekicker,” McFadden said. “I cannot tell you how grateful I am to coach and his staff for their faith in me during my college career. They really prepared me for football beyond college,” McFadden said.

Wilkins came to YSU in the early 90’s, right when former coach Jim Tressel was leading the program to their yearly destination — the Division I-AA championship game.

“When I arrived high school football commanded most of the attention and we struggled to put 7,000 people in the stands. Three consecutive championship game appearances later and we were putting over 17,000 fans in the stands and they weren’t a passive group at all,” Wilkins said. “We knew because of the fans that the Ice Castle was a distinct home field advantage for us.”

McFadden, who in 1980 kicked a 54-yard field goal at Murray State the very first time he officially stepped onto a football field, scored 520 points professionally while playing six seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons. With 120 field goals to his credit, he remains one of just three NFL placekickers all-time to have converted two, 50+ yard field goals in a game twice during a career.

“It remains very special,” he said of the accomplishment. “I came close to making it to the playoffs in New York but it just never happened. Jeff [Wilkins] on the other hand, is a playoff veteran with a Super Bowl Ring and two Super Bowl appearances.”

With 1,416 career points (on 495 extra points and 307 field goals), Wilkins remains the only Rams player in franchise history to ever score 1,000+ points. In 2003 he booted a then-record 39 field goals, scored all of the Rams’ points in an 18-10 win over the Denver Broncos in 2006 and with a long kick of 57 yards, his 81.8 field goal conversion rate is one of the tops in the game all-time.

Wilkins said playoff games in college helped him to prepare for the same during his professional career.

“They tell you that you can adapt from the college game to the pros, but playing those four extra games my final three seasons at YSU was a really big help,” he said.