While the National Football League lockout has fans and players alike wondering what to do, 49ers kicker Joe Nedney took some of his newly acquired free time to spend with a group of kids from Vine Hill Elementary School. A batch of a dozen or so kids from Vine Hill won a raffle to participate in the punt, pass and kick day with Nedney in Scotts Valley at Skypark this weekend.
“What better way to spend a Saturday,” Nedney said. “Eat some burgers, and throw around some footballs, this is great.”
Nedney graduated from San Jose State in 1995, and was picked up by the Miami Dolphins to handle place kicking and field goal duties. Thirteen years and eight teams later, the 6-year Scotts Valley resident has found a place with the San Francisco 49ers as placekicker for the past five seasons.
Standing 6-4 and weighing 220 pounds, Nedney is a proverbial giant among NFL kickers.
“I tried to play wide receiver in high school,” Nedney said. “After I collapsed one of my lungs I kind of fell back on my soccer skills and the rest you could say, has been history.”
