Ohio State's 2016 senior class has a chance to win its second national championship in three years with two more victories this season. Before kickoff against Clemson in the College Football Playoff, Eleven Warriors will take a brief look back at each player's time in Columbus.
Where They're From
Not even Urban Meyer knew the answer to the question.
"I have no idea," Ohio State's head coach joked earlier this season.
The question was in reference to the Buckeyes' kicker Tyler Durbin, and where exactly he came from? Meyer couldn't even put his finger on it, and that's what makes Durbin's story so remarkable.
"I don't know where the hell he came from," Meyer said.
After playing soccer for two years at James Madison, Durbin made a decision to give up the sport he played his entire life. He wanted to try football — he never played before — so he filmed himself kicking footballs and sent out videotapes to Ohio State, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.
The Buckeyes called and said they had a walk-on available and the Fairfax, Virginia native jumped at the opportunity. It was only the beginning of his story.
Top Moments
By all accounts, Durbin had a standout season for the Buckeyes as he made 17 of his 20 field goal attempts. Two of those misses came in the regular-season finale against Michigan — and he was on the hook be the game's goat if Ohio State had lost — but his 23-yarder with 1 second remaining in regulation sent the game to overtime and gave the senior a bit of redemption.
Against Wisconsin, a game which the Buckeyes again needed overtime for a 30-23 victory, Durbin was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts hitting from 25, 40 and 31 yards out. The 31-yarder from Durbin came with just 3:57 remaining and, once again, allowed Ohio State to get to overtime.
He hit two field goals against Tulsa, Penn State, Nebraska and Maryland and made all 11 extra point tries in Ohio State's season-opening victory against Bowling Green.
Oh yeah, there was this hit on a kickoff return in that game, too.
Overarching Contribution to the Program
Ohio State had a bit of a kicking issue over the last couple of seasons, but Durbin's rise from nowhere gave the Buckeyes some stability at a position that hadn't been all that stable.
This season was his second at Ohio State, but his first year as the starting kicker — a spot he earned in fall camp after an injury set Sean Nuernberger back. Nuernberger is healthy now, but Durbin didn't relinquish the starting job.
He'll be counted on heavily when Ohio State and Clemson meet on Dec. 31 in the Fiesta Bowl. The misses from the Michigan game — the only real low point this season for Durbin — are behind him.
"I'm good. I'm past that," he said recently. "I was a little upset for the next day or two, then came in and was ready to get to work and ready for the next game."
Where He's Headed
One of the big reasons Durbin chose Ohio State was because of the engineering program. The other three schools he looked at transferring to for football — Virginia, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech — also have strong engineering programs, but Durbin wanted to play for a high-level football program, too.
"Obviously," he said, "I got that here."
Durbin will get his degree in civil engineering, but who knows, perhaps there's a shot at the NFL first. This story is already crazy enough.
More on Durbin
- Getting to know Tyler Durbin, the Ohio State walk-on who earned the job as the Buckeyes' starting kicker.
- The Long Route: Tyler Durbin's winding road from college soccer player to Ohio State kicker.
- Tyler Durbin recaps Wisconsin performance.
