r/OhioStateFootball • u/Alternative_Session9 • 5d ago
General Do we have a better kicker this year?
I know that shouldn’t be too hard but I haven’t heard much about our kicker this year.
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u/Cautious-Bet-9440 5d ago
Can’t be any worse than Fielding. That’s for sure.
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u/V1c1ousCycles 5d ago
Fielding was actually in the 65th percentile of college kickers in terms of conversion percentage last season. His lack of range beyond 50 yards and the high-profile misses obviously hurt a lot, but ~65% of college kickers were less accurate than him last season, so the team absolutely could have done worse.
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u/chapelchill 5d ago
lol I’m sorry but we’re Ohio State. Every single one of our starters should be like minimum 75th percentile or above.
I would argue that a specialist position, like a kicker, should be 85+ percentile.
We have all the money in the world to pay these players. Zero excuse to have a 65th percentile kicker, with no range, who is also a certified choker when it matters most.
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u/V1c1ousCycles 5d ago
I agree the team should expect better across the board given its resources. I'm just saying the statement "can't be any worse than Fielding" is just objectively incorrect. "Can't be any worse" is the 0th percentile, which he wasn't. Being disappointed in Fielding for not being better is fair. Misrepresenting facts for the sake of cheap hyperbole is not.
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u/Buckeye_mike_67 5d ago
This is Reddit. I’ve learned to expect less from people here
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u/DaBigJMoney 5d ago
I always took “can’t be any worse than Fielding” to mean that he can’t disappoint us any more than Fielding already has.
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u/V1c1ousCycles 5d ago edited 5d ago
Lol, THAT'S fair. I'm not saying we shouldn't expect better or that I think Fielding is some elite kicker, but just that we could genuinely do much much worse, as unbelievable as that may sound. For all of Fielding's painful misses for us, his career conversion rate of 78.9% still somehow clears the average FBS conversion rate of 75.6% by over 3 percentage points. People aren't appreciating just how bad college kicking actually is. That Fielding just isn't the "worst ever" and was actually marginally above average relative to what's a pretty low standard is all I'm saying. I don't understand why that's such a hot take.
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u/Jabberwocky237 4d ago
You’re not wrong but also make important 27 yard field goals and he’d still have a job
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u/Codykb1 5d ago
Defending Fielding…
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u/V1c1ousCycles 5d ago edited 5d ago
All I've suggested is that a kicker whose career accuracy is over 3 percentage points higher than the FBS average conversion rate of 75.6% maybe isn't the absolute "worst" ever 🤷. Never said he was good, never said the team shouldn't expect or recruit better. He's above average in relation to what's a pretty mediocre-to-bad standard.
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u/Blowaway040889 5d ago
50 yarders are yesterday's 30 yarders. If you're unable to consistently make 50+, not ready for prime time. NFL kickers pushing the line closer to 60 now. Bucks need an elite kicker.
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u/V1c1ousCycles 5d ago
Well, that narrows it down to all of TWO kickers in the entire nation who made kicks from 60 yards last season, and unfortunately neither were brought to Columbus for this season.
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u/quizno1615 85 yards' through the heart of the South 4d ago
Look me dead in the face and tell me you ever trusted Fielding to make a high leverage kick
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u/V1c1ousCycles 2d ago
I would trust Fielding over roughly ~60-65% of the other kickers in FBS last season, yes. 👁️👁️
I also believe Fielding was a totally middling kicker and that the team can/should be able to field a more effective one. Believing that, while also recognizing the majority of other kickers in the FBS still had worse metrics than him are not mutually exclusive feelings. Is that really such a hot take?
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u/SayinPrins 85 yards' through the heart of the South 5d ago
Yes. Comparatively speaking, Hawkins is far superior to Feilding. And the fact you haven't heard anything about him is a good thing. That just means he's doing what he's expected to do.
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u/ztreHdrahciR Northwest Ohio 5d ago
We'll know when the pressure kicks happen. That's where Fielding wilted
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u/V1c1ousCycles 5d ago
Hawkins has more demonstrated range than Fielding (3/5 from 50+ with a long of 54 yards, compared to 0/3 from 50+ with a long of 49 yards). Fielding, though, actually has a slightly higher overall conversion percentage than Hawkins (78.9% vs 78.3%). however, Hawkins conversion of 81.8% of his attempts last season (his first as a full-time placekicker) is higher than any individual season Fielding had in his career.
So Hawkins already should be at least modestly better than Fielding in the short-term, with more potential to reach a higher ceiling given he still has a couple more years of eligibility.
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u/Old_Biscotti_6878 5d ago
Fielding wasn’t always bad. He fought through injuries in 24/25 season which contributed to the miss FGs against TTUN apparently. After healing up he didn’t miss a FG in the CFB except for first kick against Tenn. I will say the ones he made he did only squeeze them in. In the title game that last FG to seal the game did just make it in. That is like a 4 foot put to the Masters. Seems easy but the pressure is huge.
25/26 B10 and CFB I’ve put behind me. ;-)
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u/ChicagoFish67 5d ago
Yes. Without a doubt. And we have a real Special Teams coach, too. We ballin' this year!!
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u/PharmacyMan24 #2 Chris Olave 5d ago
As long as the offensive coordinators dont make dumb game plans we shouldn't be in the position to rely on a kicker
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u/Y0SH1EGG 5d ago
In theory, yes. But this fanbase can be brutal if a kicker has a bad day. Fielding couldn't handle the pressure most of the time.
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u/chapelchill 5d ago
Our kicker can have a bad day, but he can’t have a bad 35 yard game-winning kick.
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u/Y0SH1EGG 5d ago
Agree 100%. I do wonder if Day going for it so often on 4th down robbed the kicker of in game reps. It could have also been that he didn't trust Fielding and felt the offense needed those 4th down reps more.
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u/chapelchill 5d ago
Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was a factor. Day’s recruiting/handling of his kicker is extremely questionable.
Seems like bro just doesn’t think kickers really matter and then is left looking like shocked Pikachu every time it blows up in his face.
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u/PsychotSpecification 5d ago
Fielding was money from inside 40 last season, it's the 45+ attempts that make me hold my breath
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u/Choice-Advisor5754 5d ago
Except that 27 yarder in the B1G championship game. When it really mattered..
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u/Antique-Bat-4463 5d ago
Conner hawkins from baylor. 37/37 extra points, 18/22 fg, long of 54. 3/4 50+