The Ohio State elephant in the room is hard to ignore and never forgets.
Few during preseason camp want to talk about the fear of not having a reliable field goal kicker, but the memory of missed field goals in crucial situations over the past five seasons is not so easily shaken.
Ohio State fans still wince when recalling Jayden Fielding’s two missed kicks of 36 and 38 yards against Michigan in the 13-10 loss to the Wolverines in 2024, his missed 27-yarder with 2:48 remaining in the 13-10 loss to Indiana in the 2025 Big Ten Championship Game, and the missed 50-yarder in the 24-14 CFP semifinal loss to Miami.
Before that? Noah Ruggles hooked a 50-yard attempt as time ran out in the 42-41 loss to Georgia in the 2022 playoff loss to Georgia.
Never
mind that both kickers made many more field goals than they missed (45 of 57 for Fielding and 37 of 41 for Ruggles). The kicks that missed are etched into the collective memory of Buckeye Nation. That they lay dormant does not mean they are forgotten; more that fans’ attention has been diverted until that moment when a chip-shot field goal sails wide left. Only then is the elephant identified.
Transfer kicker Connor Hawkins had strong season at Baylor
The focus through the first two days of fall camp has been on “more important” matters and meatier questions, such as whether Bo Jackson or Isaiah West will start at tailback? (My money is on Jackson.) Is five-star recruit Chris Henry Jr. as impressive as advertised? (Yes.) And how is the defense progressing with having to replace eight starters? (Time will tell.)
The kicking game? Mostly an afterthought among the masses, despite missed kicks having cost the Buckeyes a likely national championship (2022) and a win against Michigan (2024). If there is any buzz about the kicker position, it is because of Connor Hawkins, a redshirt sophomore who transferred from Baylor, presumably with a suddenly richer bank account. He was named to the Lou Groza Award watch list Aug. 7
Is Hawkins the kicking savior the Buckeyes have longed for since … Blake Haubeil? Ohio State has not had a kicker convert a 50-yard field goal since Haubeil nailed a 55-yarder against Northwestern in 2019. He was also 3 for 3 on kicks from 40-49 yards and made 10 consecutive field goals to finish the 2019 season, including two in the Big Ten Championship win against Wisconsin and three inside 34 yards in the CFP semifinal loss against Clemson.
Hawkins’ numbers are impressive. Last season at Baylor he made 18 of 22 field goals, including a 54-yarder and 52-yarder, as well as two game-winning kicks. (OSU’s last game-winning walk-off kick was in 2009 when Devin Barclay hit a 39-yard field goal in overtime to beat Iowa). Hawkins also was 37 of 37 on PATs. But … with kickers there is always a but … he was only 1 for 2 in the OSU spring game, making a 46-yarder while missing a 43-yarder.
Maybe kicking is kicking, but Baylor is not Ohio State
Some contend that kicking is kicking, no matter where you do it. But Baylor is not Ohio State, where Fielding received threats of bodily harm and a bomb threat on his house after the misses against Michigan and Indiana.
Hawkins and his backup, Notre Dame transfer Marcello Diomede, are not currently scheduled to speak to the media this preseason. That's not unusual. Special teams players mostly fly under the radar. But don’t take that to mean they are being protected. At least not by coach Ryan Day, who offered a knowing smile when I asked if trying to get inside the kickers’ heads was part of the preseason preparation.
“Every single snap matters and we’re chasing small margins, so we’ll quickly get into situations here,” Day said. “And that’s everybody, so everybody can feel how important it is. … We’ll try to create situations where there is certain time on the clock and the ball is around midfield where, OK, we’re going to play this out, the offense needs a field goal, and put him in that situation where he doesn’t have a bunch of field goals [he’s already made]. It’s like being at the driving range. You don’t get to go to the driving range once you [begin playing the course].”
Guard Luke Montgomery wants kickers to know: ‘You’ve got it, bro'
Ohio State left guard Luke Montgomery sees it as part of his job to keep kickers mentally buoyant.
“They’ve got a big job, having to step in and win games for us,” he said. “Connor has done a great job, [freshman] Cooper Peterson has done a great job. And you have Marcello [Diomede], who I call Luigi. Great dudes. They’re super motivated and working their butts off, more than I’ve seen in the past. As a group, including the long snappers, they’re locked in.”
In games, Montgomery’s message to kickers is simple: “Give them a little pat on the butt and, ‘You’ve got it, bro. It’s just like practice.’ You sink to the level of your training when you’re in those moments. They’ve done it in practice all the time, year in and year out. It’s their job, just like it’s our job to block for the quarterback.”
How hard is the kicker’s job? It could be argued that, mentally, lining up a make-or-break field goal is as challenging as it gets.
I asked defensive back Earl Little Jr. if kickers have it tougher than quarterbacks and safeties, which he said mentally are the most challenging positions to play.
His answer? “Naaah, but I love our kickers.”
Ohio State fans want to feel the same way, but that elephant makes it hard.
Sports columnist Rob Oller can be reached at roller@dispatch.com and on X.com at @rollerCD.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Does Ohio State have a kicker who can make high-pressure field goals?
