Brett Ludwiczak
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Buckeye Heroes: Mike Nugent is undoubtedly the best kicker in Ohio State history
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images
The 2004 Lou Groza Award winner holds most of the school’s kicking records.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about Ohio State heroes. Whether they are the biggest names in Buckeye athletic history, or underappreciated icons; perhaps even players who made major impacts off the field. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Buckeye Heroes” articles here.
There are so many challenges college football coaches have to deal with on and off the field. One of those on the field challenges is finding a reliable place kicker.
Even if you think you have a kicker who is nearly automatic, it seems to never fail that they end up missing when the game is on the line. Just look at Noah Ruggles in the 2022 season, where he was 17-19 before missing a really tough 50-yard field goal with the Buckeyes trailing Georgia by a point late in the fourth quarter.
When it comes to the most reliable kicker in Ohio State history, there is no doubt who has earned that title. Aside from career and single season field goal percentage, which are both held by Ruggles, Mike Nugent holds pretty much every other Ohio State kicking record. Nugent came to Ohio State from Centerville, where he was a teammate of linebacker A.J. Hawk.
Heading into the 2001 season, not only was Jim Tressel trying to find his footing as he transitioned from Youngstown State to Ohio State, the Buckeyes were looking for a new kicker. Mike Nugent and Josh Huston battled it out for the starting position, with Nugent eventually winning the job.
The first year for Nugent wasn’t anything special statistically, as he was 7-14 in field goals and 23-25 on extra points. Luckily for Nugent, Tressel had some patience with the kicker since not only was Nugent a freshman, the Buckeyes were just 7-5 in Tressel’s first season in Columbus.
The 2002 season is where Nugent started to break out and assert himself as one of the top kickers in the country. Not only did Nugent hit 25 of his 28 field goal attempts, he hit all but one of his 46 extra point attempts. Nugent finished the season with 120 total points on an Ohio State team that went on to upset Miami in the BCS National Championship Game.
Along with being a national champion, Nugent was a consensus All-American and named second-team All-Big Ten.
Even though Ohio State wasn’t able to repeat as national champions in 2003, Nugent still put together a strong season for the Buckeyes. Much like his sophomore season, Nugent only missed three of his field goal attempts as a junior, and it marked the first season where he hit all of his extra point attempts.
Overall, the Buckeye offense struggled at times to put points on the scoreboard since they were trying to replace running back Maurice Clarett, but Nugent took care of his business when his number was called. For the second year in a row Nugent was named second-team All-Big Ten.
While Nugent’s senior season wasn’t statistically his best, it certainly was his most memorable in the scarlet and gray. In his final season in Columbus, Nugent was 24-27 on field goal attempts and he hit all 30 of his extra point attempts to finish with 102 points.
What made the season more impressive for Nugent is he hit an incredible 55-yard field goal at the end of regulation to beat Marshall 24-21 in Ohio State’s second game of the season, and the next week he followed it up with five field goals in a 22-14 win at North Carolina State. The five field goals in a game tied Bob Atha’s school single-game record, and was later matched by Josh Huston and Devin Barclay.
Nugent’s spectacular senior season earned him unanimous All-American honors, a first-team All-Big Ten spot, and the prestigious Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best college placekicker. Along with all those accolades, Nugent became the first kicker in school history to be named the team’s MVP. Had it not been for Nugent, the Buckeyes definitely wouldn’t have earned a spot in the BCS, where they went on to defeat Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl.
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Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Nugent was so impressive during his college career that the New York Jets drafted him with the 47th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. Most teams opt to pick up their placekickers either in the latter rounds of the draft or in free agency, making it rare for kickers to be selected in the first two rounds of the draft. Since 2000, only Sebastian Janikowski has been selected higher in the draft than Nugent.
Following four seasons with the Jets to start his NFL career, Nugent bounced around to a couple teams before finding success back in Ohio with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he spent seven years. The final stop in Nugent’s NFL career was in Arizona, where he would appear in four games for the Cardinals in 2020.
Nugent finished his NFL career by making 265 of his 327 field goal attempts, amassing 1,180 career points. Not only did Nugent have six seasons of at least 100 points, he racked up 132 points for the Bengals in 2011.
Even before his NFL career was over, Nugent was inducted into the Ohio State University Athletic Hall of Fame in September 2019. The Centerville product still holds school records for most field goals made in a career, most field goals made in a season, and is tied for most field goals made in a game. Nugent also has the second-highest career field goal percentage, and three of the top-nine single-season field goal percentages, including the third and fourth-best single-season percentages.
These days with analytics, coaches seem to be relying on kickers less, opting instead to leave the offenses out on the field more. Ryan Day’s thought process might change a bit if he had a kicker like Mike Nugent at his disposal. If there is going to be a kicker to oust Nugent from the throne as the best kicker in school history, they’ll have to put together an incredible career since Nugent is the most decorated Buckeye kicker by a wide margin.
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Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images
The 2004 Lou Groza Award winner holds most of the school’s kicking records.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about Ohio State heroes. Whether they are the biggest names in Buckeye athletic history, or underappreciated icons; perhaps even players who made major impacts off the field. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Buckeye Heroes” articles here.
There are so many challenges college football coaches have to deal with on and off the field. One of those on the field challenges is finding a reliable place kicker.
Even if you think you have a kicker who is nearly automatic, it seems to never fail that they end up missing when the game is on the line. Just look at Noah Ruggles in the 2022 season, where he was 17-19 before missing a really tough 50-yard field goal with the Buckeyes trailing Georgia by a point late in the fourth quarter.
When it comes to the most reliable kicker in Ohio State history, there is no doubt who has earned that title. Aside from career and single season field goal percentage, which are both held by Ruggles, Mike Nugent holds pretty much every other Ohio State kicking record. Nugent came to Ohio State from Centerville, where he was a teammate of linebacker A.J. Hawk.
Heading into the 2001 season, not only was Jim Tressel trying to find his footing as he transitioned from Youngstown State to Ohio State, the Buckeyes were looking for a new kicker. Mike Nugent and Josh Huston battled it out for the starting position, with Nugent eventually winning the job.
The first year for Nugent wasn’t anything special statistically, as he was 7-14 in field goals and 23-25 on extra points. Luckily for Nugent, Tressel had some patience with the kicker since not only was Nugent a freshman, the Buckeyes were just 7-5 in Tressel’s first season in Columbus.
The 2002 season is where Nugent started to break out and assert himself as one of the top kickers in the country. Not only did Nugent hit 25 of his 28 field goal attempts, he hit all but one of his 46 extra point attempts. Nugent finished the season with 120 total points on an Ohio State team that went on to upset Miami in the BCS National Championship Game.
Along with being a national champion, Nugent was a consensus All-American and named second-team All-Big Ten.
Even though Ohio State wasn’t able to repeat as national champions in 2003, Nugent still put together a strong season for the Buckeyes. Much like his sophomore season, Nugent only missed three of his field goal attempts as a junior, and it marked the first season where he hit all of his extra point attempts.
Overall, the Buckeye offense struggled at times to put points on the scoreboard since they were trying to replace running back Maurice Clarett, but Nugent took care of his business when his number was called. For the second year in a row Nugent was named second-team All-Big Ten.
While Nugent’s senior season wasn’t statistically his best, it certainly was his most memorable in the scarlet and gray. In his final season in Columbus, Nugent was 24-27 on field goal attempts and he hit all 30 of his extra point attempts to finish with 102 points.
What made the season more impressive for Nugent is he hit an incredible 55-yard field goal at the end of regulation to beat Marshall 24-21 in Ohio State’s second game of the season, and the next week he followed it up with five field goals in a 22-14 win at North Carolina State. The five field goals in a game tied Bob Atha’s school single-game record, and was later matched by Josh Huston and Devin Barclay.
Nugent’s spectacular senior season earned him unanimous All-American honors, a first-team All-Big Ten spot, and the prestigious Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best college placekicker. Along with all those accolades, Nugent became the first kicker in school history to be named the team’s MVP. Had it not been for Nugent, the Buckeyes definitely wouldn’t have earned a spot in the BCS, where they went on to defeat Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Nugent was so impressive during his college career that the New York Jets drafted him with the 47th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. Most teams opt to pick up their placekickers either in the latter rounds of the draft or in free agency, making it rare for kickers to be selected in the first two rounds of the draft. Since 2000, only Sebastian Janikowski has been selected higher in the draft than Nugent.
Following four seasons with the Jets to start his NFL career, Nugent bounced around to a couple teams before finding success back in Ohio with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he spent seven years. The final stop in Nugent’s NFL career was in Arizona, where he would appear in four games for the Cardinals in 2020.
Nugent finished his NFL career by making 265 of his 327 field goal attempts, amassing 1,180 career points. Not only did Nugent have six seasons of at least 100 points, he racked up 132 points for the Bengals in 2011.
Even before his NFL career was over, Nugent was inducted into the Ohio State University Athletic Hall of Fame in September 2019. The Centerville product still holds school records for most field goals made in a career, most field goals made in a season, and is tied for most field goals made in a game. Nugent also has the second-highest career field goal percentage, and three of the top-nine single-season field goal percentages, including the third and fourth-best single-season percentages.
These days with analytics, coaches seem to be relying on kickers less, opting instead to leave the offenses out on the field more. Ryan Day’s thought process might change a bit if he had a kicker like Mike Nugent at his disposal. If there is going to be a kicker to oust Nugent from the throne as the best kicker in school history, they’ll have to put together an incredible career since Nugent is the most decorated Buckeye kicker by a wide margin.
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