Ryan Day shares where Ohio State's battle at kicker stands

The Ohio State quarterback battle is getting most of the attention, but there are other position battles taking place during preseason camp, too. One of those is at kicker where Parker Lewis and Jayden Fielding are competing to be the Buckeyes’ kicker.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day recently provided an update on where things stand at kicker.

“They’re going back and forth,” Day said earlier this week. “I think we probably will have a good idea of where we’re at by the end of the week. We’ll give them one more opportunity. But we’re charting all the kicks.”

Noah Ruggles attempted all of the field goals and extra points for the Buckeyes last season, including the one that could have potentially led to Ohio State winning a national title.

Lewis and Fielding are both talented, and Lewis does have some experience at the Power 5 level. He was honorable mention All-Pac 12 in 2020 at USC, before transferring to Ohio State in the summer of 2022.

Lewis was 26 of 35 on field goal attempts over 19 games at USC and made 76 of 77 PATs.

Fielding walked on at Ohio State ahead of the 2022 season. He was one of the top kickers in the country coming out of high school after making all of his kicks as a senior at IMG Academy.

Day added that he feels good about both options.

“The good news is we have two capable kickers there,” he said. “But probably need to decide who that’s going to be here by the end of the week.”

Ohio State coach Ryan Day explains why he has not yet named a starting QB

As for the quarterback battle that is taking place at Ohio State, Ryan Day also provided an update on it.

Kyle McCord and Devin Brown are the expected top two in the Buckeyes’ quarterback race. But no one emerged yet just a couple of weeks before the end of the season.

But now, Day wants to see one thing from both quarterbacks before making a decision.

“I mean, that’s a word I keep saying, you know, consistency,” Day said. “You got to be able to do it over and over and over again. You know, it’s not good enough to just do it two or three times and then throw an interception. 

“And then the expectation, the standard here is very very high. But all these guys knew that when they came here. We all agreed on that in recruiting them. I mean, I could give you a list of the things that both of them are doing well, and then a list of the things they’re not doing well.”