Jayden Fielding will be Ohio State’s kicker to start the 2023 season.
In a position battle that received far less attention than the quarterback competition but is also important to Ohio State’s success this fall, Fielding – a sophomore walk-on – beat out USC transfer Parker Lewis to be Ohio State’s starting kicker to begin the 2023 season.
Fielding will handle both field goals and kickoffs against Indiana, Ryan Day said Tuesday, after serving as Ohio State’s kickoff specialist throughout the 2022 season. He has never attempted a field goal or extra point in a collegiate game, but has impressed Ohio State in practice since he arrived in Columbus last year.
Day said Fielding was Ohio State’s most consistent kicker over the course of the offseason, allowing him to win the job.
Lewis, who transferred to Ohio State as a scholarship player from USC last year, made 22 of his 35 field goal attempts and 46 of his 47 extra point attempts in two years with the Trojans, but did not see any game action for the Buckeyes in 2022.
