Steve Weatherford

Steven Thomas "Steve" Weatherford (born December 17, 1982) is an American football punter for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Illinois. He also played for the New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Jets.

Early years
Weatherford attended Terre Haute North Vigo High School, where he played punter, kicker and safety on the football team. As a punter and place kicker, he set records for the most field goals in a career, longest punting average and longest field goal made (55 yards vs. Lawrence North High School). He averaged 45.4 yards per punt and held a 4.26 second hangtime average. As a kicker, Weatherford made 37 of 40 extra point attempts and connected on seven field goals from 40 yards or longer. He was named to the All-Conference team and earned All-State honors as a kicker twice consecutively. As a safety, Weatherford managed two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

He also played soccer, track and basketball, earning a total of thirteen varsity letters in his high school career. He was an All-County forward in soccer, and an All-State track team member three times. He also set a Junior Olympics record in the 4x800 meters relay. He set a school record in the 300-meter hurdles (39.34 seconds).

College career
Entering the University of Illinois in 2001, Weatherford redshirted his freshman year. He was named the starter in 2002, averaging 39.7 yards on 23 punts.

In 2003, Weatherford was an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten Conference selection. Weatherford averaged 44.5 yards on 43 punts, breaking the school record held by Dike Eddleman since 1948 (43.0 yards per punt). This placed Weatherford at second in the Big Ten and 12th in the nation in punting average. He was also named the school's Special Teams player of the Year.

In 2004, Weatherford earned First-team All-Big Ten honors from the Coaches and Second-team honors from the media. Sports Illustrated named him the Most Underrated Player in the Big Ten. He finished second in the Big Ten in punting average, again, and fourth nationally. Weatherford averaged 45.4 yards per punt on 57 attempts, breaking the record he set the previous season. He was a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award. He also scored a touchdown on a fake field goal against Northwestern on November 20, 2004.

In his senior season in 2005, Weatherford punted 64 times for a per punt average of 42.8 yards. Weatherford finished his collegiate career as the school's all-time leader in career punting average, with a career average of 43.6 yards per punt.

Weatherford was also a member of the men's track team at the University of Illinois. He placed 3rd in the heptathlon at the 2005 Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships, setting a school record with 5,365 points.

New Orleans Saints
Weatherford was signed as an undrafted free agent on April 20, 2006 by New Orleans. Weatherford was released by New Orleans on September 2 only to be re-signed on September 5, 2006.

Steve Weatherford played in all 16 games for the New Orleans Saints, punting 77 times for an average of 43.8 yards per punt, which ranked 15th in the NFL. He had a season-long of 59 yards, and 19 of his punts were inside the 20-yard line. Weatherford also recorded two solo tackles and a 15 yard rush for a first down.

On October 20, 2008, he was released by the Saints.

Kansas City Chiefs
Weatherford was claimed off waivers by the Kansas City Chiefs on October 22, 2008, to replace an Injured Dustin Colquitt. The Chiefs then put him on waivers on November 4.

Jacksonville Jaguars
Weatherford was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars on November 25 after Adam Podlesh went on injured reserve. He competed with Podlesh for a spot on the Jaguars' roster for 2009 but was eventually cut by the team on September 5, 2009.

New York Jets
Weatherford was signed by the New York Jets on September 7, 2009 and was the team's punter for the 2009 season. However, he was unable to play in the Jets' first playoff game due to problems with an irregular heartbeat. After the game, Weatherford explained that he had undergone surgery during college to correct a genetic heart condition that caused his heart to race, and that during his professional career the problem had not recurred until this game. Weatherford said he was taking medication to control the condition, was cleared to play in the Jets' next game, and would have minor heart surgery to address the problem after the season. In March 2010 Weatherford underwent cardiac ablation at Morristown Memorial Hospital in Morristown, New Jersey.

During the 2010 season, Weatherford tied the record for most punts inside the 20-yard line in a single season with 42.

New York Giants
Weatherford agreed to terms with the New York Giants on July 29, 2011. For the 2011 regular season, Weatherford recorded a punt average of 45.7 yards with a net punt average of 39.2 (both career highs). Weatherford has been noted for his physique and strength, uncommon for a special teams player. He was featured in the December 2011 issue of Men's Fitness, where his "maniacal" workout routine was described. He is reportedly able to squat 475 pounds and bench press almost 400 pounds, and teammates call him the "strongest player pound-for-pound" on the team.

Weatherford was the second player to enter the postseason with both New York teams. He also got his first Super Bowl title after the Giants defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. Weatherford averaged 40.8 yards per punt, and provided the Giants with integral field position, which led to a safety after an intentional grounding penalty by Tom Brady.

After the 2011 season, the Giants used the franchise tag on Weatherford while they continued to negotiate a longer contract. On March 16, Weatherford signed a five-year contract with the Giants.

Personal
He and his wife, Laura, have three children, Ace, Carney, and Aurora