Ohio State kicker Jake Seibert makes unique position change to help Buckeyes

Ohio State kicker Jake Seibert is ready to spread his wings beyond special teams for the Buckeyes. That’s right, the rising redshirt sophomore is no longer sticking to kicking. Instead, he’ll play some cornerback for Ohio State this season while retaining his spot as a backup kicker.

The change may come as a surprise, since kickers aren’t normally the type of players to switch spots during their careers. However, Seibert is a pretty versatile athlete, apparently. The third-year Buckeye was a wide receiver and cornerback in high school as well as serving as kicker. So a real three-phase player before his college days.

And now, given that Seibert hasn’t had much shine as the team’s primary kickers — and didn’t even make it on the field las year — he’s decided to try his hand at another position on the field he’s comfortable with.

Here was what head coach Ryan Day had to say on the matter at a recent press conference:

“You know, he had played some wide receiver and corner in high school. And he wanted to kind of bring some different values. So I mean he’s still gonna work on kicking and do that part. But he’s also going to be able to help at some of the other positions.”

Perhaps Seibert could even contribute a little bit at wide receiver too if need be. Let’s not forget his kicking prowess, though. Seibert did not kick a ball during a live game in 2021, but in 2020, he took over the kicking job in three games late in the season for Ohio State. Which included blowout wins over Rutgers and Indiana, and a perfect night in the national championship against Alabama, where he hit all three extra points and his lone field goal attempt in the loss to the Tide.

So, if necessary, a solid kicker. But now, Seibert also adds depth at cornerback or maybe even wide receiver.