Neither kicker from Ohio State’s 2025 roster will be back in 2026.
Jackson Courville, who backed up Jayden Fielding this season, announced Friday that he is entering the transfer portal after one year with the Buckeyes.
I have decided to enter the transfer portal with 2 years of eligibility remaining. Thank you to Coach Keys, Coach Daniel, the strength staff, my teammates, and everyone in the Woody that has been apart of my journey during my time in Columbus. Ill cherish the relationships Ive pic.twitter.com/2oZ4rzIpQg
— Jackson Courville (@JCourville28) January 2, 2026
Courville transferred to Ohio State last offseason from Ball State, where he went 26-of-34 on field goals across two seasons, but didn’t kick any field goals in his year with the Buckeyes.
Fielding’s 27-yard miss in the Big Ten Championship Game prompted questions about whether Ohio State should switch kickers for the College Football Playoff, but Ryan Day indicated before the Cotton Bowl that Courville hadn’t done enough in practice to seize the job away from Fielding, who missed his only field goal attempt from 49 yards out in Ohio State’s loss to Miami.
“He kicked in practice during this time,” Day said of Courville. “We're going to go with Jayden in this game, but he's had an opportunity every day in practice to kick, and we'll keep a close eye on it, but we're going to go with Jayden to start the game.”
With Courville’s departure, Ohio State will have no returning kickers for the 2026 season, as Fielding has used his four years of eligibility. As such, the Buckeyes will need to add multiple kickers this offseason, likely including at least one kicker from the transfer portal.
Ohio State is also exploring the possibility of adding a high school kicker to its 2026 recruiting class, offering uncommitted kicker Jacobo Echeverria on Thursday.
After a great conversation with @theGunnerDaniel and Coach Keys, I'm BLESSED to receive my 7th D1 offer from THE @OhioStateFB.@CoachJunko_USC @HKA_Tanalski@KohlsHighlights @kt_recruiting pic.twitter.com/sfwJ1t2k0m
— Jacobo Echeverria (@jaceche1) January 1, 2026
Courville is the 11th scholarship player from Ohio State’s 2025 roster to enter the transfer portal, joining quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, running backs James Peoples and Sam Dixon, tight end Jelani Thurman, wide receivers Bryson Rodgers and Damarion Witten, defensive ends C.J. Hicks, Dominic Kirks and Logan George and defensive back Bryce West.
