New Ohio State kicker option becomes available via transfer portal

With the Ohio State Buckeyes in need of a place kicker, one young star drops in their laps if they want to pursue him.

Ohio State Buckeyes kicker Jayden Fielding (38) kicks a field goal during the Big Ten Conference championship game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Dec. 6, 2025. Ohio State lost 13-10. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The kicking for Ohio State has been a glaring issue in the past years, going back to the most memorable moment in 2022, where the Bucks' season ended on a missed field goal. 

More recently, this year, Jayden Fielding had two crucial misses in the biggest games of the season. 

The first came against Indiana in the Big Ten Championship that would’ve tied the game at 13 with 2:48 to go, and it was from just 27 yards away.

The other miss came in the quarterfinals of the CFP versus Miami, where, before halftime, Fielding missed a 49-yard kick that would've made the score 14-3. A key miss because Ohio State would go on to score two touchdowns while Miami managed a field goal at the end of the third quarter, where it would stay 17-14 until under a minute to go.

In his Ohio State career, Fielding finished 45-57 in field goals, 15-20 from 40 to 49 yards, and 0-3 from 50+ yards. Fielding is now moving on to the NFL, and the Buckeyes will need a new kicker. 

That new kicker may have just entered the transfer portal.

Connor Hawkins, a redshirt freshman from Baylor, is searching for a new team. This past season, he was 18-22 on field goals (81.8%), 5-8 from 40 to 49 yards, and nailed three kicks from 50+ yards, with his career-long being 54 yards.

Why the Buckeyes should pursue Hawkins

Hawkins has not missed an extra point in his career (42-42) and a field goal from 39 yards and in (10-10). Hawkins also made two game-winning kicks this year, one against SMU in a 48-45 win, the other with 30 seconds left vs Kansas State, the final score ended 35-34.

Coming out of high school, Hawkins was rated as the 14th-best kicking prospect in the 2024 class, where he was a standout player for Liberty Hill in Texas. 

Once this news hit the internet, Ohio State fans were all over it, clamoring for OSU athletic director Ross Bjork to go and get Hawkins. Hawkins will still maintain three years of eligibility, red-shirting his freshman year, and can bring some stability to a kicking room that needs it.

He brings the range of 50+ yards that Ohio State needs and has not had for the past three years. Hawkins has also proved that he can come through in big-time moments, which Ohio State has had a lot of in recent years.