K Mike Nugent (All American, Lou Groza Winner, National Champion)

[BB73]

Nugent is not the first kicker to be team MVP.

Mili, I've got to ask who the other one was, I don't recall off hand.

 

[sandgk]

Thing is that first time characterization of Nuge's well-deserved MVP award is exactly what Portenas prints at the-ozone (and normally they are reasonably good, or if not they let you know), and is reflected in the copy that was printed over at ohiostate.scout.com ... which they took from the official ohiostate buckeyes site. I'm guessing most national feeds would take that last print as right on the money.

So I guess I'm saying Mili -- if you've got an earlier instance of an Ohio State kicker winning the team MVP award there are plenty of folks in the press and at other Buckeye sites that will scarlet-cheeked.

'Course if you are wrong on this no biggie ... we all are only human

 

[Wadcutter]

Wasn't Tom Skladany and MVP?

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

I think it was a kicker in the mid/late '70s. Tom Skladany sounds right...I know he was a team captain.

After some extensive research, Tom Skladany was the last kicker to be a team captain until Nugent, but Nugent was the first kicker to be named team MVP.

 

[Thump]

I think it was a kicker in the mid/late '70s. Tom Skladany sounds right...I know he was a team captain.

After some extensive research, Tom Skladany was the last kicker to be a team captain until Nugent, but Nugent was the first kicker to be named team MVP.

Here's some other info. on Skladany:

Doesn't say anything about MVP like Mili said.


Tom Skladany


Kicker 1973-76

OSU’s most recent three-time All-American, Tom Skladany, was a punter and kicker between 1973 and 1976 and he was the first kicking specialist ever to receive a football scholarship at Ohio State. He proved his worth immediately, landing the job as the Buckeyes’ No. 1 punter as a freshman. He also kicked off as a freshman and sophomore. As a junior and senior, he added PATs and field goals to his list of responsibilities. Skladany averaged 45.6 yards per punt as a sophomore and was named to the Football Writers All-America Team. He was a consensus All-America choice the next two years, again leading the country in 1975 with a 46.7 average. As a senior, he averaged 42.3 yards per kick and finished his career with a 42.7 average on 160 punts. That’s good for second on the all-time list, as is his yardage figure of 6,838. Skladany was co-captain of the 1976 squad, the only specialist ever chosen as a captain.

 

[BB73]

I think it was a kicker in the mid/late '70s. Tom Skladany sounds right...I know he was a team captain.

That makes sense, he was the first kicking specialist to ever get a football scholarship at tOSU. He was a three-time All-American from 74-76, and a co-captain in '76 (I was on-campus then). I didn't think he won the MVP, though.

I just found this on the official site, written before the bowl game, indicating that Nuge is the first kicker to get MVP:

http://ohiostatebuckeyes.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/120504aaa.html

Nugent Named Buckeyes' Most Valuable Player

Record-setting senior co-captain is the first OSU kicker to claim MVP laurels

Dec. 5, 2004

COLUMBUS, Ohio: Senior place-kicker Mike Nugent has been selected by his teammates as the most valuable player on the 2004 Ohio State football team.

Nugent led the Buckeyes in scoring this year with 87 points and has moved into third place on the all-time OSU scoring list with 341 points. He owns or shares 19 school records, including the mark for most 50-yard field goals in a season with five this year.

A two-time All-American and a two-time finalist for the Lou Groza Award as the top place-kicker in college football, Nugent is the first Ohio State kicker to win team MVP honors.

Nugent received the award at the annual senior appreciation banquet, which was held Sunday. During the regular season, Nugent converted all 27 of his extra point attempts and made 20 of 23 field goals tries. His 55-yard field goal as time ran out against Marshall propelled the Buckeyes to a 24-21 victory. The following week, he tied a school record with five field goals at North Carolina State.

Nugent, who has made his last 81 extra point attempts, also handles kickoffs for the Buckeyes. Thirty-four of his 55 kickoffs in 2004 resulted in touchbacks.

 

[Dryden]

Tampa Tribune

http://bucs.tbo.com/bucs/MGBJAC3ZN7E.html

Bucs' Silence Could Speak Volumes
By ROY CUMMINGS

TAMPA - The Bucs haven't sent coaches to any of Ohio State place-kicker Mike Nugent's eight pro workouts this spring. They didn't bother to interview Nugent during their weeklong stay at the scouting combine and they haven't brought him to Tampa for a personal interview.

It could mean something - the Bucs want him.

In 1999, after adopting a pre-draft plan to take Martin Gramatica in the third round, the Bucs went to great lengths to keep their interest in Gramatica secret. At one point, the Bucs even told Gramatica to deny having contact with them to keep other teams from learning of their interest.

The Bucs haven't gone quite that far with Nugent. After all, with rival scouts and coaches looking on, they had daily contact with Nugent during a week's worth of Senior Bowl workouts in February. You have to wonder, though, if someone hasn't asked Nugent to clam up.

Since April 2, when a Dayton (Ohio) Daily News report quoted Nugent's father as saying that Bucs coach Jon Gruden had guaranteed him he would draft his son in the third round, Nugent's camp has been denying the report's accuracy. This despite the fact Dayton Daily News editors say they stand by the story and that Nugent's father's quotes were taped.

``My dad and Coach Gruden met because they both went to [the University of] Dayton and [so] my dad introduced himself to him at the Senior Bowl,'' Mike Nugent said. ``But that was it. My dad didn't have any kind of conversation with him. Besides, I know that [Gruden issuing a guarantee] wouldn't happen.''

The report's accuracy may be in question, but the Bucs' need for a place-kicker is undeniable. Tampa Bay has ranked last in the league in field goal percentage each of the past two years, and one of the many things missing from their roster as the draft approaches is a proven NFL kicker.

Matt Bryant and Jay Taylor currently top the depth chart, and neither has been able to keep an NFL job for a full season. When you combine that with the fact that almost 25 percent of NFL games are decided by three points or less, you can see why the Bucs may be considering spending a third-round pick on Nugent.

Easily the highest-rated kicker in this year's draft, Nugent reminds a lot of scouts of Gramatica when he was coming out of Kansas State. He's extremely accurate (he was good on 88 percent of his field goal tries the past three years) and he can hit from at least 55 yards out.

Nugent also is effective on kickoffs. He doesn't drive the ball very deep into the end zone, scouts say, but he does get very good hang time. Several scouts have said the hang time Nugent got on his kicks at his pro workouts was in the 4.1-second range, which is better than the NFL average of 3.9 seconds.

He can kick in the clutch, too. Nugent kicked that career- best 55-yarder to break a 21-21 tie against Marshall with two seconds remaining in the Buckeyes' second game last season. And he kicked the game-tying and game-winning field goals in an overtime game against Purdue in 2003.

``He's as good as we've seen come out in a while,'' said one NFC talent evaluator. ``He's a lot like [Oakland's Sebastian] Janikowski. And remember, [Nugent] is not a kid who kicked in a dome or in pristine conditions. He's been out there in the bad weather and in the tough situations.''

The Bucs aren't the only team impressed by Nugent. The Vikings, 49ers, Falcons and Jets have expressed strong interest as well, said Nugent, who believes one of those teams will take a chance on him before the fourth round.

``I'm thinking I'll go somewhere near the end of the second or early in the third round,'' Nugent said.

The third round is where teams generally begin to take a chance on kickers. But the men running the Bucs draft have been known to gamble on them much sooner. Gruden and Bucs general manager Bruce Allen engineered the drafting of Janikowski in the first round, 17th overall, for the Raiders in 2000.

Gruden and Allen aren't likely to use a first-round pick on Nugent. They probably won't use a second-round pick on him either - unless they make a trade that brings them an extra pick in that round.

Even if they miss out on Nugent, the Bucs likely won't miss out on a kicker entirely.

The Bucs have openly expressed a desire to add a young kicker for training camp, and several, such as Mississippi's Jonathan Nichols and Oregon's Jared Siegel, will be available in the late rounds.

But the Bucs appear focused on Nugent. Their silence says so.

Minneapolis Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/stories/510/5353410.html

Vikings: A leg up? Not for kickers in draft
Mark Craig, Star Tribune

Kickers, in general, can be a pain to deal with. Not having one, like the Vikings, is worse.

"They're important, no doubt about it," said Rob Brzezinski, Vikings vice president of football operations. "Really, for us, since Mike [Tice] has been the coach, it's been an Achilles' heel for this team."

The question is whether the problem is big enough for the Vikings to select a kicker on the first day of this year's NFL draft. Most draft experts project Ohio State kicker Mike Nugent as a third-round pick on Saturday.

The Vikings are interested, but, like most teams, they struggle with the age-old question of whether any draft pick, let alone one on the first day, should be used on a kicker.

"I personally would prefer not to draft one, but if you need one, you need one," said Scott Studwell, Vikings director of college scouting. "You just have to make sure you feel comfortable with where you have them ranked on your board. You hate to devalue them, because they can win or lose games for you."

The Vikings have struggled with placekickers since Doug Brien's game -- not to mention his ability to make a PAT -- fell apart early in the 2002 season. Gary Anderson was summoned out of retirement.

Young Aaron Elling was unspectacular in 2003, then lost his confidence and job last summer. Morten Andersen was called in as another temporary fix at age 44.

Andersen is a free agent and likely a last resort option only. Elling, who handled kickoffs last season before breaking his ankle, is a possibility, although he's a shaky proposition at best. There are no other unrestricted free agents who interest the Vikings at kicker.

ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. predicts the Vikings will select Nugent in the second round with the 49th overall selection. Kiper calls Nugent "arguably the best kicker to come out of the collegiate ranks since Sebastian Janikowski." The Raiders selected Janikowski with the 17th overall pick of the 2000 draft and haven't regretted it.

Nugent, who made 20 of 23 field goal attempts as the nation's Lou Groza Award winner in 2004, enters the draft with a higher ranking from Kiper than the one given to Iowa's Nate Kaeding last year. Kaeding was selected in the third round by San Diego. He had a strong rookie season until missing a 40-yard field goal at the end of regulation that cost the Chargers a playoff victory over the Jets.

"Drafting a kicker is a tough decision, and it requires the right situation," said Ernie Accorsi, New York Giants vice president and general manager. "It depends on how many picks you have and what kind of team you have. If you have a real solid team and plenty of picks, I don't have a problem with picking one as high as the second round. But you better make sure the kicker is awfully good."

According to several draft experts, Nugent is the only kicker worthy of being selected on the first day of the draft, which includes the first three rounds. NFLDraftScout.com lists Boise State's Tyler Jones as a potential fifth- or sixth-round selection. Kiper projects Dave Rayner of Michigan State the same way.

One person who said he would never select a kicker on the first day of the draft is Fox television analyst Jimmy Johnson, whose drafting skills as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys were a key component in Dallas winning three Super Bowls in the 1990s.

"Kickers are extremely risky," Johnson said by phone last week. "You can always find a kicker somewhere. Sometimes kickers get mad at me for saying this, but kickers have slumps. And when kickers have slumps, I find myself a new kicker.

"I don't want to be drafting someone I know I might be getting rid of right away."

In NFL history, five kickers or punters have been drafted in the first round, the most recent being Janikowski. The last one before that was Russell Erxleben of Texas, who was selected 11th overall by the New Orleans Saints in 1979.

Paul Wiggin, the Vikings' director of pro scouting, was Saints defensive coordinator at the time.

"Let's just say it didn't pan out," Wiggin said with a laugh. "I think from that point in my life I decided I don't know if you ever want to take a chance on one of those guys."

The Saints wanted Erxleben to handle the punting and placekicking. He was a five-year flop who made a total of four field goals in eight attempts and averaged 40.6 yards per punt.

In 2000, Erxleben was sentenced to 84 months in prison for federal conspiracy, fraud and money laundering charges involving his foreign currency firm.

"He not only didn't answer any of our punting and kicking problems, he was a screwball," Wiggin said. "He was the original flake."

The Vikings selected Arizona State kicker Mike Mercer in the 15th round of their first draft in 1961. Mercer lasted only two seasons, and the Vikings didn't draft another kicker until 1974, when they selected Berl Simmons of Texas Christian in the eighth round. He didn't make the team.

The Vikings have drafted only three kickers since then, none since 1978. The only one to make the team was Mike Wood of Southeast Missouri, an eighth-round pick in 1978. He lasted one season with the team.

"It's hard to say how high anyone should go to get a kicker," Studwell said. "I think [Kaeding] was worth it last year. You just have to be very careful about it."

 

[IronBuckI]

Here's some other info. on Skladany:

Doesn't say anything about MVP like Mili said.

It probably wouldn't, since Mili said that Nuge was the first kicker to get MVP. I doubt that Skladany's bio would mention Nuge. Even if, from this point forward, every kicker that ever existed should be compared to Nuge.:tongue2:

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

KFFL posts teams interested in Nuge

<!-- / icon and title --> <!-- message -->Chiefs, Falcons, Jets, Bucs, Titans

Duh... takes a brilliant GM to decide they're interested in the best kicker to come out of college this year...

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

===============
The Bucs haven't sent coaches to any of Ohio State place-kicker Mike Nugent's eight pro workouts this spring. They didn't bother to interview Nugent during their weeklong stay at the scouting combine and they haven't brought him to Tampa for a personal interview. It could mean something -- the Bucs want him.
-- Tampa Tribune

 

[martinss01]

===============
The Bucs haven't sent coaches to any of Ohio State place-kicker Mike Nugent's eight pro workouts this spring. They didn't bother to interview Nugent during their weeklong stay at the scouting combine and they haven't brought him to Tampa for a personal interview. It could mean something -- the Bucs want him.
-- Tampa Tribune

hard to imagine them not wanting him. best kicker coming out of college in a LONG time. possibly ever if you count the whole "not being a nutjob" thing.

Nugent, who has made his last 81 extra point attempts, also handles kickoffs for the Buckeyes. Thirty-four of his 55 kickoffs in 2004 resulted in touchbacks.

and two that i can remember went through the uprights .

IronBuckI, im not old enough to rember many of the old greats at kicker for tOSU. so for me i can say with 100% certainty that nuge is without question the benchmark. tOSU kickers have a big shadow to deal with for at least the next 10 years. i can't wait to see him kick in the nfl. his first year will be a little rough, but i think he will be back to his kickin em throug the uprights on kickoffs self by year 2. if he is still around in the 3rd someone is gonna get a steal!

im just waiting for someone to ask him in an interview, "how will it feel to come out on the field for a kick and not hear the chant "nuuuuge"?

*misses nuge already* :(

 

[mamabuck]

The difference is that Janokowski was a problem child from high school in Daytona Beach on. He is European and has had a serious problem with booze his whole life. Nuge, however, has none of those issues and is comparably a saint.

We've had enough player problems in the NFL of late. Nuge is just out and out a quality act. When he had the chance to play for the scouts, he was perfect--not missing a single kick.

He's got the talent, the personality, the ability to represent any team with dignity . . . what more can you ask for? He goes in the second round!

im just waiting for someone to ask him in an interview, "how will it feel to come out on the field for a kick and not hear the chant "nuuuuge"?

*misses nuge already* :(

I predict that it will only take a couple of games before Mike's pro team chants "Nuuuuuuge."

He was just too awesome to believe! We will ALL miss him, and look forward to following his pro career!

 

[BB73]

Limited edition Nuge stuff on O-zone

They only have 25 of these, and some are gone, they're $99 plus $20 shipping:

O-zone front page - I don't believe I'm allowed to copy pictures of the stuff.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=200 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>http://www.jadeinc.com/ozone/store/...tegoryPTR=41&ProductID=265&NumberOfEntries=30</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Limited Opportunity : Davidson Photo is proud to offer a very limited edition, signed and numbered collection of Mike Nugent photos. Nugent personally signed and number each of the 25 framed and matted items. Each high quality piece will be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a 4x6 image of Mike signing one of the item. There is a strict limit of 25 total copies, many of which have already been sold, so order now before they're gone.

 

[starBUCKS]

I didn't check out the sight, is it a fundraiser for the O-Zone? Because if not I don't know how you comand that much for a Mike Nugent signed picture.

 

[jwinslow]

Nuge drafted in 2nd rnd by NYJ

Gosh I couldn't be more thrilled about this.

WOOOOOOOHHH!