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Ohio State transfer kicker Jake Seibert commits to Northern Illinois

IMG_7408by: Andy Backstrom05/09/23andybackstrom
Jake Seibert by Kyle Robertson-USA TODAY Sports
Former Ohio State kicker Jake Seibert converted only one field goal in his Buckeyes career, and it came in the national title game during the 2020 season. (Kyle Robertson-USA TODAY Sports)

COLUMBUS — Kicker Jake Seibert was the first of four Ohio State scholarship players to enter the transfer portal during the spring window. But he’s the last one to announce his transfer destination.

Seibert committed to Northern Illinois Tuesday and has three years of eligibility remaining.

Seibert’s lone converted field goal in a Buckeyes uniform occurred on the biggest stage. A freshman at the time, he knocked in a 23-yarder in Ohio State’s national title game loss to Alabama during the 2020 season. Seibert attempted one other field goal that season but missed.

He did, however, go 16-of-16 on extra points, three of which came against the Crimson Tide in the National Championship.

The following offseason, though, he lost the Buckeyes’ place kicking competition to Noah Ruggles, who transferred in from North Carolina. Ruggles went on to hold that job the last two seasons, making 37-of-41 field goals, or 90.2%, in the process. Although Ruggles missed a potential game-winning, 50-yard field goal against Georgia in the Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal last year, he did leave Ohio State with the highest field goal percentage in school history.

Seibert — the No. 2 overall kicker in the 2020 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking — didn’t kick for the Buckeyes again after his first season in Columbus.

The La Salle High School, in-state product took part in the initial stages of Ohio State’s current kicking battle this spring, but he wasn’t one of the two Buckeyes players at the position to attempt a field goal in the exhibition. Jayden Fielding missed a 40-yarder and Parker Lewis, who transferred in from USC last offseason, put through a 38-yarder. Kent State transfer Casey Magyar is in the mix as well. But Magyar and Seibert only had extra points to their names in the spring game.

Seibert, notably, also practiced at cornerback in 2022, but he never saw the field there.

Now, he’s off to NIU, where he will hope to replace John Richardson, who was 18-of-23 on field goals for the Huskies last season.

While Seibert ended up in the MAC, the other three Ohio State scholarship transfers in the spring window went to the SEC and Big Ten. Second-year wide receiver Caleb Burton committed to Auburn, and third-year offensive lineman Ben Christman committed to Kentucky. Meanwhile, second-year wide receiver Kaleb Brown is linking up with former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara at Iowa.