Shea Gets His Kicks in Honolulu

Anybody in Jeff Shea’s football cleats would have reacted the same way.

When the folks at the Hula Bowl call to see if you want to play, after you’ve punted in obscurity for years, the jaw drops and the heart skips a beat.

“I was shocked,” the Cal Lutheran punter said. “The thought had never crossed my mind.”

Now that he’s done pinching himself, Shea is down to the business of soaking in the sun and preparing for the game today at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.

It’s not the place where players from Division III schools usually hang out this time of year, unless they happen to be on vacation.

Shea is the first Cal Lutheran player invited to the game that features many of the nation’s top seniors. Defensive end Jon Chamberlin of Southern Oregon, an NAIA Division II school, is the only other player this year not from a Division I institution.

But no one doubts that Shea, a former All-Frontier League pick from Santa Paula High, belongs.

Shea, 6 feet 4 and 210 pounds, averaged 44.4 yards a punt last season and had a 75-yarder against Pacific Lutheran that was 10 yards shy of his school record set in 1996.

The average wasn’t good enough for Shea to lead Division III in punting for a third consecutive year, and it was modest compared to his 45.3 average in 1996 that set a division record, but Shea is not disappointed.

He helped Cal Lutheran to a tie with Whittier and Redlands for the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship, the first football conference title in school history.

“Field position is huge,” said Shea, a three-time Division III All-American. “My main thing [last season] was to get more balls inside the 20 [yard line].”

Of Shea’s 43 punts, 19 were inside the 20. Only four were touchbacks. He finished with a four-year average of 43.4 yards, a Division III record.

Shea was nominated for the Hula Bowl by Cal Lutheran Coach Scott Squires and landed a spot on the North team that will try to reverse a 26-13 loss last year.

Shea said he was in Squires’ office when a Hula Bowl representative called.

“It took me about a half a second to say yes,” Shea said. “The next day my parents were out booking a flight [to Hawaii]. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance.”

All week, Shea has been running in fast company. His teammates include quarterbacks Brian Griese of Michigan and Ron Powlus of Notre Dame. The itinerary has been hectic.

Besides the obligatory luau and visit to Pearl Harbor, Shea and the other players have been taking in the sights and hot spots in the islands. And, oh yes, the morning practices.

“I’m having a blast,” Shea said. “We are on Hawaiian time--you get there whenever you get there.”

The practices, Shea said, are a magnet for NFL scouts. He estimates about 200 of them are talking to players, handing out questionnaires, sizing up the crop. There are plenty of agents too.

“I’ve filled out the paperwork for some of the them and I’ve talked to a couple of agents,” Shea said. “What I can hope for, realistically, is being invited to camp and show them what I can do because I’m not going to get drafted.”

Shea knows the odds are stacked against him. Last year, Brad Maynard of Ball State was the only punter drafted, taken by the New York Giants in the third round.

Still, Shea is living for the moment and not worrying about the future.

“This is a positive experience all around,” he said. “These are the best players in the country. It’s an honor to be among them.”