Jets Sign a Punter

The Jets have signed former University of Florida punter Eric Wilbur.

Wilbur (6'2", 200) was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Houston Texans in May 2007, and was released July 23. He also was signed and released by the Jacksonville Jaguars in August 2007.

His averages in  college were 42.3 in 2004, 41.6 in 2005, and 42.3 in 2006, when he was a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, given to the nation's top punter. For reference, Reggie Hodges averaged 42.8 in 2008 with the Jets. In his senior year, he unleashed bombs of 53, 54 56, 58, 59, and 64 yards.

This is a young guy with a nice boot. It will be fun to see what Mike Westhoff can get out of him. He is a good first addition to the punting mix, but the Jets should by no means make him the only punter in camp. That job is too important to just hand to a guy who has not kicked in a game in two years without some sort of competition. That was the mistake the team made with Ben Graham last year. Hodges should be invited back to compete, and the club should take a look at the University of Cincinnati's Kevin Huber in the late rounds of the Draft. Huber was the nation's top punter.