49ERS FEEL THEY HAVE THEIR PLACE-KICKERS.

Byline: Don Bosely Sacramento Bee

Loneliness? Jeff Wilkins loves the concept. Adores it. Couldn't be happier with it. In case anybody wants to know, he has absolutely no desire for more company. Isolation is his life.

In case anybody's asking, that goes double for Tommy Thompson. Just because no other kicker or punter has set foot in the 49ers' training camp this summer, do not suspect for a moment that Wilkins and Thompson are longing for the camaraderie.

Camaraderie, they can get in the unemployment line.

``Hey, I'm not complaining,'' said Wilkins, who had never attempted an NFL place kick until nine months ago. ``I guess you'd call it a little bit of a surprise that other kickers aren't here, but I'm not about to ask them to bring in more guys.''

It was only last November that Wilkins was sitting home in Ohio, working on his communications degree at Youngstown State.

Barely a month earlier, Thompson was punting so horribly that he felt certain he'd cost himself a job with a particularly unattractive first-quarter boot against the Giants.

Now the 49ers are so sold on both that they didn't even bother to bring any challengers to camp.

``Hey, these guys are pros,'' said George Stewart, the new special-teams coach. ``If I had guys who were less mature or less professional, guys who couldn't handle it, then I'd be bringing other guys in to challenge them.

``Jeff and Tommy - their maturity level is exceptional, even though they're young guys.''

Wilkins and Thompson are both 24, and both could easily be pursuing other vocations. But Thompson turned around his 1995 season just in time, hiking his early 37-yard punting average up to 40.6, and Wilkins stabilized a place-kicking nightmare that had been forged on the toes of predecessors Doug Brien and Luis Zendejas.

``One week I was back at home, going to school,'' Wilkins said. ``The next week I was in Dallas, kicking in the biggest game of the year. It was pretty incredible.''

Wilkins had been the Eagles' kickoff specialist for six games in 1994, but he had never attempted an NFL placement kick, even in exhibitions. In eight games with San Francisco, he went on to hit 12 of 13 field-goal attempts, missing only his sole attempt beyond 40 yards.

When Stewart arrived in the offseason from Tampa Bay, he convinced the 49ers to go after Bucs kicker Michael Husted. Tampa matched San Francisco's offer, however, and soon thereafter Stewart began to realize that no replacement for Wilkins would be necessary.

``I had been misinformed about Jeff's leg strength,'' Stewart said. ``I thought Michael had a strong leg, but I think Jeff's might actually be a tad stronger.

``We've been working on nothing but 40- to 49-yard field goals in camp, and I'd say he's been hitting them at a 75 to 80 percent clip, which is all I can ask.''

Thompson, a second-year man from Oregon, is also Stewart's kind of punter - a hang-time guy who allows the coverage teams to get downfield. With camp rosters limited to 80 players, Stewart decided his special teams would benefit more from the presence of additional running backs and linebackers than from additional kickers.

``I love it,'' Thompson said. ``I think every kicker kicks better when he's more relaxed. The down side is, I get more reps and get tired. The up side is, with our offense, I need to get more reps while I can.''