THE PRO COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYER PROSPECT SCOUTING DATABASEFREE AGENT PROSPECT -
SIGNED BY NEW YORK JETS
P - K - Wilbur, Eric, Florida 06
Height: 6-2 Weight: 200 Age: 24
Born: 12/12/1984 Orlando , FL
College: Florida - Winter Park Trinity Prep
General Area Workouts for Pro Teams: This player is in the Florida region and could be available at Free Agent Kicking Camps if not signed in advance.
Scouting (Staff):
Paul Assad, Pro College Football Player Development and Scouting comments: Reworked footwork and timing on ball set and drop punting and footwork and plant position on field goals and kick off's get more into the ball. Has a very live leg. Tendency to toss the drop early - improving. Crushes 5 second plus long punts and long kicks when he's on. Definite NFL Prospect. Been with Texans, Jaguars and Jets.
Career:
HONORS: Named to the 2006 Ray Guy Award Watch List by the Greater Augusta Sports Council…Earned first-team recognition from CollegeFootballNews.com and was a third-team pick on the SEC Coaches’ Preseason Team…Became the first punter in school history to be named a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award in 2005…Named to The Sporting News'Knoxville-News Sentinel All-Freshman Team and was chosen as the Rivals.com Freshman All-American in 2004…Named to the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2004 (Coaches)…Named to the All-Freshman Team in 2004…
CAREER: Saw action and started in 49 games…Concluded his Gator career first in punting yardage (9,900), attempts (231) and second in average (42.9)…Reached over 5,000 career-yards punting in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl against Miami (Fla.)…Produced 39 punts of 50+ yards…
2006: Punted 53 times during the season for 2,244 yards and an average of 42.3 per kick, a figure that led the SEC…Recorded four punts for a total of 177 yards in Florida’s 41-14 win over Ohio State in the Tostitos BCS Championship Game…Punted six times against Arkansas in the SEC Championship Game, registering 224 yards and an average of 37.3 yards per kick…Three of his efforts against the Hogs were downed inside the 20-yard line, including his game-long 54-yarder…Recorded a season-high eight punts for 332 yards, including two downed inside of the 20, in the Gators’ 21-14 win at Florida State…Also recorded a season-long punt of 64 yards against the Seminoles, his longest kick since the 2003 matchup with LSU…Did not participate in Florida’s 62-0 win over Western Carolina, as the Gators did not punt…Handled two punting assignments against South Carolina for an average of 36.0 yards…Became Florida’s all-time career punts' leader after topping Buster Morrison’s 209 punts at Vanderbilt…Had four of his six punts at Vanderbilt downed inside the 20-yard line, and notched 253 yards for a 42.2 average…Posted a then-season-long punt of 59 yards against Georgia…Crossed the 1,000-yard mark for the season against Georgia, where his six punts totaled 271 yards (45.2 average)…Recorded two punts, including one inside the 20-yard line, for an average of 46.0 yards (92.0 total yards) in Florida’s 27-17 loss at Auburn…Made four punts for an average of 51.0 yards (204 total yards) against LSU…Three of his four punts reached inside the 20-yard line in the win over the Bayou Bengals…Notched four punts for 150 yards, with a long of 49 against Alabama…Recorded a punt of 58 yards in the 26-7 win over Kentucky, marking his 36th career punt of over 50 yards…Wilbur’s 52.0-yard average against the Wildcats was the highest single-game punt average of the Urban Meyer Era…Had two punts against UK for a total of 104 yards…Made four punts at Tennessee for 172 yards and a 43.0 average…Handled punting responsibilities in the shutout over UCF, with two punts for 84 yards and a long of 47 yards…Had three punts for 109 yards and a 36.3 average versus Southern Mississippi…
2005: Ranked sixth in the SEC with an average of 41.4 yards per punt and his 56 punts were third behind Blake McAdams (69) of Mississippi State and Britton Colquitt (59) of Tennessee…Collected a total of 2,459 yards, which was the most in the SEC…Recorded his longest punt of the season (63 yards) against Iowa at the Outback Bowl. The punt was the longest by a Florida player in a bowl game…Made three punts for an average of 46.3 yards against the Hawkeyes…Recorded four punts for 178 yards versus Florida State for an average of 44.5 yards. Had one punt downed inside the 20-yard line and another roll for a touchback…Had four punts versus South Carolina for 129 yards and a 32.2 average…Recorded a 52-yard punt against Vanderbilt…Made a 50+ yard punt in eight of the Gators’ 12 games…Placed three of his five punts inside the 20-yard line against the Commodores…Rushed for 20 yards on a fake punt versus Georgia…The rush was the first of his career…Punted for 222 yards against the Bulldogs for an average of 37.0 yards per punt…Four of his punts were pinned inside the 20-yard line…Set a UF record by recording 432 yards at LSU…Ray Criswell set the previous record with 424 yards on nine punts versus Auburn in 1985…Topped his career-best with 10 punt attempts in a single game…Had three punts downed inside the 20-yard line at LSU…Made a 51-yard punt in the second quarter…Made six punts versus Mississippi State for 284 yards. The longest went for 56 yards and averaged 47.3 yards…Pinned the Bulldogs’ at their one-yard line twice, leading to a pair of safeties…Delivered five of six kicks inside of the 20-yard line versus Mississippi State…Recorded a 52-yard punt versus Alabama. Made five total punts during the game for an average of 39.8 yards…Made one punt for 34 yards versus Kentucky...Made five punts against Tennessee for a total of 188 yards and a 37.6 average…Had two punts called that were fair caught and one downed inside the 20-yard line…Also made five kickoffs versus Tennessee for 293 yards…Made six punts versus Louisiana Tech…Three of the six against the Bulldogs landed inside the 20-yard line…Made four punts for 178 yards in the season opener versus Wyoming…The longest was a 53-yard kick in the first quarter…Handled kickoffs for the first time in his career versus Wyoming. Had one kick reach the endzone for a touchback…Earned second-team mention on the SEC Coaches’ Preseason Team…
2004: AP Honorable Mention All-SEC…Named the Co-Outstanding Special Teams Player at the conclusion of the 2004 season…The starting punter in all 11 games he played in that year for 52 plays…Named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll…Did not see action in the Vanderbilt game, the only game all year when UF didn't punt…Delivered 11 kicks inside of the 20-yard line…Finished third in the SEC in average yards per kick with a 42.3 average and 33rd nationally…In the last regular game of the season against Florida State, Wilbur booted three punts over 50 yards, covering distances of 57 (a season long), 52 and 51 yards…Placed four kicks inside of the 20 in the LSU contest, including a pair at the Tigers' one-yard line…Kicked a then-season long 56-yard punt, twice, against LSU…Finished the 2004 season with 46 punts for 1,957 yards… Reached over 1,000 yards punting by the sixth game of 2004…
2003: Ranked second in the SEC, averaging 44.8 yards per punt, the second-best figure in school history…Turned in the best average by a freshman in school history…Led all true freshmen nationally and ranked eighth overall with a 44.8 average…Tied the school record for most punts in a season by a freshman…Had 17 punts of 50+ yards, including four over 60 yards…Had a 50+ yard punt in nine of 13 games…Boomed a career-long 75-yarder in the first quarter against Tennessee…It was the fourth-longest punt in school history and the longest by a true freshman…The 75-yard punt versus the Vols was the longest punt in the SEC in 2003…Had seven punts at LSU for 355 yards (50.7 avg), including a 66-yarder…Had a 58-yarder in the fourth quarter against Miami, Fla.…Was one of seven true freshmen to play in every game during 2003…
PREP: Selected as the No. 1 kicker in Florida and the nation’s No. 7 kicking prospect by SuperPrep…First-team all-state kicker…Was 11-of-14 on field goals with a long of 48…Averaged 48 yards per punt as a senior and 78 percent of his kickoffs were touchbacks…Also named second-team all-state at the safety position and saw time at wide receiver…Recipient of the Steve Phillips Football Award…Named Team MVP senior season…Had 87 tackles, four interceptions and three caused fumbles…Returned one interception for a touchdown…Played in the 2003 U.S. Army All-American Bowl…Recorded a 70-yard punt in the Central Florida All-Star Game…Averaged 42.1 yards per punt as a junior, made 34 of 36 extra points, and connected on 60 percent of his field goal attempts…Also played soccer, baseball and was a decathlete in high school…Was named Track Team MVP and district winner in the long jump…Also considered Miami (Fla.), Notre Dame and UCF in the recruiting process…High school football coach was Drew Nemec…
MAJOR: Telecommunications.What They Are Saying About Eric Wilbur
“The coaches feel they may have solved their punting woes when they signed this standout from Trinity Prep in Winter Park. He has a very strong leg and will have a chance to compete for the starting job in the preseason. He averaged 48 yards a punt his senior season and also was a standout defensive back, earning second-team All-State honors as a safety.” (August 6, 2003)
Robbie Andreu, Gainesville Sun
"Standing on one sideline, Wilbur consistently hit 50-yard punts and sent two balls sailing over the fence surrounding the practice field-- roughly 70 yards away. If Wilbur can come close to duplicating that performance in games, he'll end up being one of the most important signees." (August 12, 2003)
Mike DiRocco, Jacksonville Times Union
"One of the reasons Florida is so tough to best is because they do so many little things well. Look at their kicking game. Their punter is averaging 45 yards a punt." (November 23, 2003)
Lou Holtz, Former South Carolina Head Coach
"He definitely is an outstanding kicker and punter. I know when he was at the University of Florida during the summer for their camp, their defensive backs coach loved him in regards to his aggressiveness and his ability to react to the ball. They felt like he could contribute in the defensive backfield. He's our leading wide receiver. He plays free safety, he kicks, he punts, he plays kick return and punt return. I know he can get better at punter, and the reason I say that is except for pre-practice and post-practice, he does not have the opportunity to be over on the side punting and going through drills, because he is a starting receiver and defensive back for us." (October 31, 2002)
"He'll definitely do things to help the Gators. Knowing his competitive nature and knowing the fact that he's been asked to do so many things in his high school career, he's not going to back down from a challenge. He knows his season is going to start in August and that he needs to get out there and prove himself. The thing he'll have to work on is the idea of playing in the Southeastern Conference, but he is mentally tough. Nothing against kickers or punters, but he's not your typical one. He's in the heat of the battle." (April 10, 2003)
"I'll tell you this: I guarantee that if Eric punts and one of those guys gets through, Florida doesn't have to worry about a kicker not making the tackle. Eric Wilbur, he's going to make the tackle." (August 22, 2003)
Drew Nemec, Trinity Prep coach
"Wilbur, a true freshman, has emerged as one of the Gators' biggest weapons and best-kept secrets." (November 25, 2003)
Mike Phillips, Miami Herald
"He gets the ball off so quick, it's going to be hard for an opponent to block one. He's a real good athlete, so you have confidence he's going to catch the football back there. He's everything we thought he would be." (August 25, 2003)
Mike Woodford, Former UF Special Teams Coordinator
"When we had him in camp last year, we felt like he could be a guy that could be a defensive back, too. He's a very athletic guy. That's the thing that excites you, when you've got a guy that can do more than just [punt]. He can run. He's got quick moves, a change of direction. He can throw the football. It just gives you another weapon." (August 12, 2003)
"Eric Wilbur has done a great job. He's getting the ball off fast and he's a good directional punter and a real athletic guy. I feel good about our kickers." (August 25, 2003)
Ron Zook, Former UF Head Coach
Ray Criswell, Former UF punter and the school career record holder for punt avg. (44.4).
