OSU’s Nugent unaffected by celebrity status
Senior holds 10 OSU kicking records
By Doug Harris
Dayton Daily News
COLUMBUS — Ohio State coach Jim Tressel insists that his players engage in community service in the offseason, which means star kicker Mike Nugent has been signing autographs with increasing frequency.
Not that the polite Centerville High School graduate is complaining, mind you.
Having grown up idolizing Michael Jordan and aspiring to be like former Ohio State kicking stalwart Dan Stultz — in other words, having known what it’s like to be among the legions with pen and paper in hand — Nugent is flattered by the requests.
“A lot of times, people will ask me, ‘Do you get annoyed at this?’ ” Nugent said. “I’ll say, ‘Are you kidding? My No. 1 goal was to have someone ask me for my autograph.’ I never get tired of this.”
The unassuming senior, who will report with the rest of the Buckeyes for preseason camp today, is still surprised when someone makes the connection between his name and his football exploits.
“Sometimes in class, people will come up to me and say, ‘You had a great game,’ ” he said. “And I’ll go, ‘How’d you know that?’ ”
After two straight sparkling seasons, Nugent’s anonymity is waning. He made 25 of 28 field goals as a sophomore in 2002 and then went 16-for-19 last season.
He owns 10 kicking records at OSU, and his career field-goal percentage of .787 is easily the top mark in school history. (Only one other Buckeye exceeded the .700 plateau: Josh Jackson, who had a .735 success rate in 1993-96.)
The 5-foot-10, 170-pound Nugent has a powerful leg in addition to a surgeon’s precision, having gone 3-for-3 in his career from beyond 50 yards.
Mississippi’s Jonathan Nichols is back for his senior season after winning the Lou Groza Award last year. And the Big Ten has distinguished kickers in Minnesota’s Rhys Lloyd, Purdue’s Ben Jones and Michigan State’s David Rayner. But NFL draft analyst
Jerry Jones said Nugent stands out from the crowd.
“He’s probably the leading kicker going into the preseason,” Jones said. “He’s got very good range, and that will be immensely favorable for him.”
Three kickers were taken in the NFL draft in April, including Iowa’s Nate Kaeding in the third round. Jones believes Nugent can expect hear his named called in 2005.
“One thing you can count on with Big Ten kickers — they certainly have kicked in lousy weather and have taken on the wind and everything else,” Jones said.
Nugent has shuttled between Columbus and Youngstown this summer to spend time with friend and mentor Jeff Wilkins of the St. Louis Rams. And the All-Pro kicker withholds no secrets from his protege.
“It’s funny how much we’re alike,” Nugent said. “I’ll say something, and he’ll say, ‘I was the same way when I was where you’re at.’
“It’s great to hang out with someone like that. He’s at a place where I definitely want to be some day.”
The two regularly engage in spirited games of P-I-G, where one is pegged with a letter if he doesn’t match the other’s made kick.
“We go back and forth,” said Nugent, who noted that field goals of 65 yards are not unusual. “If you want to get someone to lose, you’ve got to go back really deep.
“It gives me confidence, knowing I’m going against one of the best. Usually, he beats me. But it’s nice to know I can hang with him.”
Nugent has picked up another of Wilkins’ passions — golf. But while the gap between the two in the kicking realm is diminishing, Wilkins exerts his dominance on the links.
“He definitely takes care of business on the golf course,” Nugent said.
Contact Doug Harris (937) 225-2125
TOP RETURNING COLLEGE KICKERS
2003 statistics
Name School Class FGM-FGA Pct.
Connor Hughes Virginia Jr. 23-25 .920
Wes Zunker New Mexico Sr. 15-17 .882
Trey DiCarlo Oklahoma Jr. 19-22 .864
Jonathan Nichols Mississippi Sr. 25-29 .862
Nick Hayes Ala.-Birmingham Sr. 17-20 .850
Mike Nugent Ohio State Sr. 16-19 .842
Ben Jones Purdue Jr. 25-30 .833