Ryan Day provides update on Jayden Fielding, kicking situation for Week 5

COLUMBUS — Ohio State kicker Jayden Fielding sailed three straight kickoffs out of bounds during the second quarter of the Buckeyes’ 49-14 win over Marshall last week. Head coach Ryan Day revealed Tuesday that Fielding “felt a little something somewhere early on” and wasn’t able to make the adjustment from the tweak he sustained.

Austin Snyder handled kickoffs in the second half and booted in Ohio State’s final two extra points of the afternoon.

Day provided an update on Fielding and the Buckeyes’ kicking situation Wednesday after practice ahead of a Week 5 matchup at Michigan State.

“We feel like Austin can do the kickoffs,” Day said. “Whether Jayden can or not, we’ll kind of see how he does toward the end of the week. I feel like Jayden certainly can do the field goals and extra points, so we’ll plan on him doing that. And, as we get closer, we’ll decide on the kickoffs.”

Snyder is in his second season at Ohio State after transferring in from the University of Findlay, where current Buckeyes quality control and special teams coach Rob Keys was the head coach for 11 seasons (2011-22). Snyder lost his black stripe after Tuesday’s practice.

Fielding, meanwhile, has shouldered kickoff duties for the Buckeyes since the 2022 season.

He had only two kicks land out of bounds last season — while boosting his touchback percentage from 43.81% in 2022 to 58.44% in 2023 — and he had three kicks land out of bounds his first year on the job.

Even with Fielding’s woes against Marshall, his 2024 touchback percentage (60.87%) is still a career best so far. That said, his issues kicking the ball off against the Thundering Herd raised concern.

Fielding’s three kickoffs out of bounds all were to the left boundary, each giving Marshall starting field position at its own 35-yard line. The first one landed on the Marshall 11-yard line and hopped out of bounds. The second dropped on the Marshall 13-yard line and bounced over the sideline. The third only made it to the Marshall 21-yard line before skipping out of bounds — and it set the stage for a nine-play, 65-yard Herd touchdown drive right before intermission.

“Yeah, I just talked to him about his mindset, and he gave me some information just about a little tweak that he had, and he either has to make the correction or has to communicate to us that there was an issue,” Day said Tuesday. “So, I talked to him for a while, though, about that and how much we need him moving forward.”

Day noted Tuesday that Fielding’s injury is “nothing long term or anything like that.”

While Fielding has been handling Buckeyes kickoffs for the third season in a row, he took over as the team’s starting place kicker at the start of the 2023 campaign.

The League City, Texas, native and IMG Academy product is a career 81% field goal kicker. He was 16-of-20 last year, with all four of his misses coming from 40-plus yards out. Fielding hit 5-of-8 field goals ranging 40-49 yards in 2023. He did, however, miss a 52-yarder right before halftime in a six-point loss to Michigan. His career long is 47 yards, except he’s confident his range is 55-60 yards.

So far this season, Fielding is a perfect 19-of-19 on extra points. Plus, he drilled his lone field goal attempt, a 40-yarder in the opener versus Akron.

Ohio State expects him to kick field goals and extra points Saturday at Michigan State. Whether Fielding also kicks the ball off, though, is up in the air.