Steve Weatherford attended Terre Haute North High School, in Terre haute, Indiana where he played football, basketball, soccer, and ran track. He was an all-county forward in soccer and a three-time all-state performer in track. He owns a school and junior Olympic record in track. On the football team, Weatherford played safety and served as the team’s kicker and punter. He was an all-conference performer as a senior and was also a two-time all-state kicker. As a senior he converted 37 of his 40 extra point attempts and had 7 successful field goals of 40 yards or more. As a punter he averaged 45.4 yards per attempt. On defense he recorded two interceptions and took one back for a touchdown from his safety position. He set school records for most career field goals, punting average, and longest field goal (55 yards). He went on to the University of Illinois where he sat out the 2001 season as a redshirt. He became the team’s starting punter midway through his redshirt freshman season, finishing with an average of 39.7 yards per punt on 23 attempts, 4 of which went inside the opponent’s 20 yard line. He also kicked off 19 times with 3 of them going for touchbacks. As a sophomore, Steve punted 46 times for an average of 44.5 yards, with 8 punts inside the 20. His season average broke a 55 year old school record. He was named honorable mention all-big ten and the team’s special teams player of the year for his performance. As a junior, Steve finished with 57 attempts for an average of 45.4 yards with a career high 23 punts going inside the 20 yard line. He broke his own school record for punting average and had a career high 79 yard punt. His production dropped off a little as a senior, but he still had a solid season, punting 64 times for an average of 42.8 with 16 punts going inside the opponent’s 20 yard line.

Steve Weatherford has a ton of experience, having punted for Illinois for the past four seasons. He is a right footed, soccer-style punter who possesses a strong leg. He adjusts well to poor snaps and gets good hang time. He is an intelligent player and an extremely hard worker who strives for continuous improvement. The one thing he needs to improve upon is his drops. His versatility will only add to his draft day value. Not only is he an exceptional punter, he can handle kickoff duties and kick the occasional long range field goal (made a 48 yard field goal as a junior). Steve Weatherford is a solid punter who has a chance to be selected late in the 2006 NFL draft or sign as an undrafted free agent.