By Mickey Furfari
MORGANTOWN — Pat McAfee, who eventually ditched his desire to play soccer, is having an outstanding spring kicking and punting for West Virginia University’s football team.
“I’m doing really well and so are the other guys,” said the 6-1, 220-pound senior from Plum, Pa.
“Everyone is doing phenomenal. I think things are going a lot smoother than usual.”
McAfee had indicated earlier that he might join the men’s soccer team, since he played some soccer in high school. But he changed his mind after seeing all the pro scouts at WVU’s NFL Pro Day for seniors on March 13.
“I saw a lot of money with the pro scouts that were watching, and I decided that this year was not the year for me to get hurt,” he explained. “I think soccer would be a good way for me to get hurt, so I laid off, decided to retire and hang ’em up.”
His father agreed that the second-thought decision was wise for McAfee’s future as a kicker/punter on the next level. So his focus is strictly on football.
Marlon LeBlanc, the head coach of the WVU men’s soccer team, understood and readily accepted his decision.
“I’m excited about what’s going to happen (in Mountaineer football),” said McAfee, who has performed very well as three-year place-kicker and two-year punter. “I’m kicking and punting with the ones. I’m doing both and getting the ball pretty far. So that’s a good thing.”
Like every college athlete, his goal is to get better each and every year. So far, he has made such progression.
“If you don’t expect to get better each year, I think you should be done competing in anything,” McAfee said. “Once you reach your peak, you should retire. But I’m nowhere near my peak, so I have a lot of room to improve.
“I’m getting better each day. I think that’s the good thing.”
In 37 games over three seasons, McAfee has kicked 39 field goals in 55 attempts and made 168 of 170 extra points. He also has averaged 41.6 yards per attempt punting for 60 games.
His longest field goal covered 51 yards and the longest punt 75 yards. He also kicks off. He’s a member of the Big East academic all-star team and is on the Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll.
McAfee also fills the role of unofficial good-humor man for the WVU football squad.
