From now until preseason camp begins in August, Land-Grant Holyland will be writing about a different theme each week. This week, we’re featuring Ohio State Heroes – from some of the biggest names in Buckeye sports history to underrated icons and even players who made a huge impact off the field. You can find all of our theme week content here, and all of our “Buckeye Heroes” articles here.
College football coaches have many challenges they must deal with both on and off the field, and one of the challenges on the field is finding a reliable placekicker.
Even when you think you have a kicker who can kick almost automatically, there always seems to be a slip-up when the game is decided. Just look at Noah Ruggles in 2022, when he went 17-19 but missed a very difficult 50-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter with the Buckeyes down by one point to Georgia.
When it comes to the most reliable kicker in Ohio State history, there’s no question who has earned that title. With the exception of career field goal percentage and season field goal percentage, both held by Ruggles, Mike Nugent holds nearly every record for an Ohio State kicker. Nugent came to Ohio State from Centerville, where he was a teammate of linebacker AJ Hawk.
Heading into the 2001 season, not only was Jim Tressel looking to establish his footing after transferring from Youngstown State to Ohio State, but the Buckeyes were also searching for a new kicker. Mike Nugent and Josh Houston competed for the starting spot, with Nugent ultimately winning.
Nugent’s first year was not particularly impressive statistically, going 7-14 on field goals and 23-25 on extra points. Fortunately for Nugent, Tressel was somewhat patient with the kicker, as not only was Nugent a freshman, but the Buckeyes went 7-5 in Tressel’s first season in Columbus.
The 2002 season was when Nugent began to emerge and establish himself as one of the top kickers in the country. He made 25 of his 28 field goals as well as all but one of his 46 extra points. Nugent finished the season with a total of 120 points for the Ohio State team that defeated Miami in the BCS National Championship Game.
Not only was Nugent a national champion, he was also an All-American selection and was named to the All-Big Ten second team.
Although Ohio State was unable to repeat as a national champion in 2003, Nugent still had a strong season for the Buckeyes. Similar to his sophomore season, Nugent missed only three field goal attempts during his junior year, marking the first season in which he made every extra point attempt.
Overall, the Buckeye offense struggled to score at times as they tried to replace running back Maurice Clarett, but Nugent got the job done when it was his turn. Nugent was named to the All-Big Ten second team for the second consecutive year.
Although Nugent’s senior season wasn’t his best statistically, it was arguably his most memorable season in the red and gray. In his final season in Columbus, Nugent made 24-of-27 field goal attempts and 30 of his extra points for 102 points.
What made this season even more impressive for Nugent was his incredible 55-yard field goal as regulation expired in Ohio State’s second game of the season, a 24-21 win over Marshall, and then five field goals the following week in a 22-14 win over North Carolina State. Nugent’s five field goals in a game tied Bob Atha’s school record for single-game goals, a mark later tied by Josh Houston and Devin Barkley.
Nugent’s outstanding senior season saw him be named a unanimous All-American, a first-team All-Big Ten selection, and the prestigious Lou Groza Award winner as the nation’s best placekicker. In addition to these awards, Nugent became the first kicker in school history to be named team MVP. Without Nugent, the Buckeyes would certainly not have earned a spot in the BCS, going on to defeat Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25529644/53359451.jpg)
Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Nugent performed so well in college that the New York Jets selected him 47th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft. It is rare for a placekicker to be selected in the first two rounds of a draft, as most teams choose to acquire a placekicker later in the draft or in free agency. Since 2000, only Sebastian Janikowski has been selected higher than Nugent in the draft.
Nugent began his NFL career with four seasons with the Jets, then bounced around to a few teams before returning to Ohio and enjoying a successful seven-year stint with the Cincinnati Bengals. Nugent’s NFL career finale was in Arizona, where he appeared in four games for the Cardinals in 2020.
Nugent finished his NFL career with 1,180 points on 265-of-327 field goal attempts. He not only had six seasons with 100 or more points, but also scored 132 points with the Bengals in 2011.
Prior to wrapping up his NFL career, Nugent was inducted into the Ohio State University Athletic Hall of Fame in September 2019. The Centerville native still holds the school’s records for most field goals made in a career, most field goals made in a season and most field goals made in a single game. Nugent also ranks second in career field goal percentage, has three of the top nine season field goal percentages and ranks third and fourth in season field goal percentage.
In this analytics era, coaches seem to prioritize keeping their offense on the field instead of relying on the kicker. Ryan Day’s mindset might change a bit with a kicker like Mike Nugent. They’ll have to have a great career to unseat Nugent as the best kicker in school history, because Nugent is, by far, the Buckeye kicker with the most titles.
