Ohio State football names Jayden Fielding as starting kicker

Jayden Fielding is Ohio State’s primary kicker entering this season.

Fielding will kick field goals and extra points, as well as continue to handle kickoffs, rather than Parker Lewis, a strong-legged kicker who transferred from Southern California last year.

Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said Tuesday that Fielding had proven to be more consistent from spring practice through preseason training camp, settling the months-long competition.

“His overall consistency has allowed him to be the starter,” Day said.

Day said that was revealed by their charting of kicks in practices and other settings where the kickers were put under a microscope in live situations in scrimmages at Ohio Stadium.

“We really go off the chart,” Day said, “how many kicks he’s made in this area, how many kicks in that area.”

Fielding, a sophomore who joined the Buckeyes as a walk-on last year out of IMG Academy, handled kickoffs for the Buckeyes in his debut season with Noah Ruggles focused on kicking field goals and extra points.

Over 105 kickoffs, Fielding had 46 touchbacks, a percentage of 43.8%.

Day praised Fielding for his effort on the kickoffs last season, mentioning that “he did a nice job.”

Lewis had more experience with field goals and extra points, serving as Southern California’s primary kicker in 2020 and 2021.

In his two seasons with the Trojans, he made 26 of 35 field-goal attempts, including a long from 52 yards at Arizona State in 2021, and 46 of 47 extra-point tries.

It’s little surprise Day and special teams coach Parker Lewis prioritized consistency when evaluating Fielding and Lewis as a replacement to Ruggles after his eligibility expired following last season.

Ruggles was an especially reliable kicker over his two seasons at Ohio State, making 37 of 41 field goals after transferring from North Carolina. Only two of his four missed field goals were within 40 yards.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @joeyrkaufman.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football names Jayden Fielding as starting kicker