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Bidwell entertains with kicking display By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN The Pacific-10 Conference's 1998 punting champion demonstrated his powerful kicking leg and hang time in front of a group of young Medford boys Tuesday at North Medford High. The University of Oregon's Josh Bidwell, who led the Pac-10 in punting with a 45.8-yard average last fall as a senior, boomed a high punt in the direction of his 9-year-old nephew, Corey Blakley. The twisting, wind-blown ball bounced off Blakley's leg as it came down. Three members of Cascade Christian High's football team also tried their luck at fielding the high, spiraling Bidwell punts. One punt's hang time was clocked at 4.5 seconds and blew away in the gusting wind from one of the awe-inspired boys below. Eleanor Bidwell, Josh's mother and a resident of Medford, watched pridefully as her son rocketed punt after punt. Also fielding punts were Cascade Christian High players Stan Kelley, Brian Edwards and Brian Prins. "Josh kicks real high, and the boys aren't used to that," said Eleanor Bidwell. "But they had fun trying. "Josh is their idol," she said. "I guess they all want to be like him now." Blakley spent most of Tuesday with Josh Bidwell. The acclaimed punter spent Monday and Tuesday nights with his grandfather, Stan Kelley Sr., of Jacksonville. `He's good," said Blakley of Bidwell. "I want to be just like him." Said Bidwell: "Corey hasn't kicked much yet, but I think he's going to be a good quarterback. He's got a heck of an arm." Bidwell, 23, a fourth-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in the NFL draft, said he's practicing his kicking daily as he prepares to leave for the Packers' training camp on July 19. "I'm kicking the ball pretty well right now," said Bidwell, who attended two mini-camps in Green Bay earlier in the summer. "I'll be ready when I get there." Bidwell said he kicked well enough in the mini-camps to gain the confidence of new Green Bay coach Ray Rhodes and his assistants heading into fall camp. "They knew what they were getting when they drafted me," said Bidwell. "They like the height and hang time I get on my punts. "They want punts from 45 to 52 yards long with no return. After fighting off my nerves in my first mini-camp, I settled down and showed them what they wanted to see. I was kicking them high and pretty well." Bidwell is expected to be the Packers' No. 1 punter. Green Bay traded its previous punter in Sean Landeta and have invited only one other punter to fall camp. The former quarterback and kicker for Douglas High was among the top three punters in the Pac-10 during his last three years with Oregon. "They (Oregon coaches) emphasized hang time and net punting yards with me," said Bidwell. "It doesn't help the team if I punt 76 yards and it gets returned 40. "They wanted high punts with no return. I can't complain. They (the Ducks) got me ready for the NFL." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.