Locals hope World impresses NFL

By: MICHAEL PRESTON - For the North County Times | Friday, June 11, 2004 11:09 PM PDT ∞

Former North County prep football standouts Hayden Epstein and Ricky Sharpe will reach the pinnacle of NFL Europe this weekend, then return to the United States to see if their NFL teams were very impressed.

They will be combatants today in NFL Europe's World Bowl XII, which pits Epstein's Berlin Thunder against Sharpe's Frankfurt Galaxy at Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

Epstein, a Torrey Pines High graduate, will bid to oust established punter Micah Knorr in training camp with the Denver Broncos this summer. Sharpe, a Mt. Carmel and San Diego State alum, joins a crowded Cleveland Browns secondary swelled by draft picks and free agents.

A placekicker in his first two NFL seasons, with Jacksonville and Minnesota, Epstein finished the 2004 NFL Europe regular season as the second-ranked punter, with a 40.5-yard average. He wasn't foreign to punting, having handled all kicking duties at the University of Michigan.

Now, Epstein doubles as the 9-1 Thunder's holder in a bid to enhance his value to a NFL team.

"Most punters in the NFL hold, and seeing as I've never held before it's a new trade I'm learning, and I think I'm doing quite well at it," Epstein said. "I've improved a lot in all areas. I needed to get game experience and was having to deal with a lot of new elements."

The NFL Europe has played a key role in developing players for the NFL, as 237 players with NFL Europe experience appeared on 2003 NFL rosters, including Pro Bowl players Dante Hall and La'Roi Glover, and Super Bowl quarterback Jake Delhomme.

Sharpe remembers Epstein from a high-school all-star game and was also excited to learn he was not the only San Diego State standout on the Galaxy roster when he arrived in Germany. Wide receiver Derrick Lewis and center Johnathan Ingram also made the trip across the Atlantic.

"It was nice and helped me feel at home," he said. "I found out when they picked the teams that there were two guys I knew who I'd be playing with. I came here to learn the safety position because I played corner in high school and college."

Sharpe is confident the 7-3 Galaxy can reverse the two losses suffered against the Thunder during the regular season, including an embarrassing 41-0 defeat.

"We've got our starting quarterback and defensive end back and we're coming to play this week," he said. "You can never make excuses, but last time we just didn't have a good day. This week is a different game."

Previously a player who could be saddled with the responsibility of kicking a last second game-winning field goal, Epstein recognizes he will still be an important component of the kicking unit should that situation arise.

"Perhaps I'd like to be holding and getting the snap down for the winning kick," he said. "Last minute punting certainly doesn't appeal to me in a championship game."