40 best Ohio State football players this century, ranked

Best Ohio State football players this century 23. Mike Nugent – Kicker 2001-04

A kicker makes the list? Yup! Mike Nugent was one of the best college kickers since the turn of the century. One of the rare things in college football is a kicker that teams have confidence in. Usually, there’s a lot of fear when a kicker takes the field in college. Not Mike Nugent. He had ice running through his veins.

At one point, Nugent hit 21 kicks in a row. Even when he had bad games, he was still incredibly clutch. He finished his career with at least a share of 22 Ohio State kicking records. Who knew there were even 22 kicking records to break. He still holds 16 of those records. Nugent is responsible for more points than anyone in the century-long history of Buckeyes football.

In 2002, when Ohio State made the improbable run to the National Championship, Nugent made a team record 25 field goals that season. It’s safe to say that Ohio State might not make it through an undefeated season without him.

He finished his career with an incredible record. After his freshman season when he only made 50% of his kicks, he never missed more than three kicks in a season. He made 83 extra points in a row to finish his career. Think about how unlikely that is. No blocks. No messed-up snaps. Nugent hit every single kick.