It's been a difficult few days for the Ruggles family.
Following Noah Ruggles’ missed 50-yard field goal attempt Saturday that would have won the Buckeyes the Peach Bowl and resulted in a national championship game appearance, some took to social media to criticize the Ohio State kicker.
When approached by reporters in the locker room for an interview after the loss Saturday, Ruggles himself declined to comment.
But his mother, Jackie Ruggles, took to social media Tuesday to thank the Ohio State fans and staff that have been supportive of her son rather than dwell on the negative comments.
“Thank you Buckeye Nation for the overwhelming support,” Ruggles' mother wrote. “I know the loss breaks every Buckeye heart, and I appreciate the grace many of you have shown. Noah takes full responsibility for the miss. He will be grateful to his coaches and teammates who, week after week, put him in a position to be successful.
“For every person who works so hard for this team, in whatever role you play, thank you! Noah will speak to how Ryan Day and Parker Fleming changed his life. I am so thankful he was led by great coaches who were also great men. When my dad was at UPMC in Pittsburgh which was the last week of his life here, he watched film of Noah making 50+ kick in his junior year of high school. He said it would be his dream to see him kick at Ohio State. I thank God my dad's dream came true. It has been an amazing two years! Buckeye forever.”
@ryandaytime @ParkerFleming_ @11W @Dan_Hope @joeyrkaufman @LSueSzabo pic.twitter.com/2tgKkDeIjw
— Jackie Ruggles (@ruggles_jackie) January 3, 2023
Ruggles, who has now exhausted his collegiate eligibility, played for Ohio State for two seasons after transferring from North Carolina. His biggest collegiate moment came in the Rose Bowl at the end of the 2021 season, in which he made a game-winning kick against Utah. He made 37 of 41 field goal attempts in his Ohio State career, giving him the record for the best field goal percentage (90.2%) in Ohio State history, and went 148-of-149 on PATs.
