It won’t be just the offense and the defense in the spotlight when Ohio State begins spring practice on Tuesday.
The need for better special teams play has been a hot topic at Ohio State for years, especially for the last three months after a missed 27-yard field goal by Jayden Fielding cost the Buckeyes dearly in the Big Ten Championship Game. Ohio State took steps to address its special teams shortcomings this offseason, bringing in a new kicker and special teams coordinator.
Spring Previews
Now, the process of improving that phase of the game on the field begins with 15 practices this spring, in which the Buckeyes will also be breaking in a new long snapper while determining who their lead returners should be.
After previewing every position group on offense and defense entering spring practice, we wrap up our Eleven Warriors Spring Preview with a look at how Ohio State’s special teams roster has changed, the biggest question and battle to watch entering spring and the overall outlook for the Buckeyes’ special teams going into 2026.
Who’s Back
Joe McGuire (Starting Punter in 2025)
McGuire, who’s entering his third year as Ohio State’s top punter, is the only returning specialist on the roster from last season. Although the Buckeyes ranked just 79th in average yards per punt in 2025, Ryan Day indicated in January that Ohio State is happy with McGuire as its starting punter for 2026.
“Joey's back for another year, which is great,” Day said on The Ryan Day Show. “He really gets the ball out quickly and then does a nice job.”
Who’s New
Connor Hawkins (Transfer Kicker), Dalton Riggs (Transfer Long Snapper)
Ohio State found what appears to be an upgrade at kicker with the addition of Hawkins, who went 18-of-22 on field goals – including three makes on four attempts from 50-plus yards – in his first year as the starting kicker at Baylor last season.
The Buckeyes also added a new long snapper through the transfer portal in Riggs, who was the starting long snapper at UCF last year and at BYU in 2024. Day said in January that Ohio State views Riggs as “the best long snapper in the country.”
“Very accurate,” Day said of Riggs. “When you kind of study how that works, the whole idea of the snap and the hold, we call it no laces. He gets so good that when he snaps it with the perfect rotation, all the holder has to do is catch it and put the ball down; he doesn't have to turn the laces because of how good they get it and how exact they get it. He's very, very good.”
The Buckeyes also added walk-on depth at all three specialist positions. High school recruit Cooper Peterson and Notre Dame transfer Marcello Diomede were brought in to back up Hawkins, while high school recruit Brody Jenkins and Maine transfer Landon Beal were brought in for depth at long snapper. Houston Christian transfer Brady Young joined the Buckeyes as a backup punter.
There’s also a new coach overseeing Ohio State’s special teams, as the Buckeyes hired Robby Discher as their new special teams coordinator. Discher, who had been Illinois’ special teams coordinator since 2023, is the Buckeyes’ first full-fledged special teams coordinator since Ohio State fired Parker Fleming after the 2023 season. Rob Keys and Gunner Daniel, who oversaw Ohio State’s special teams for the past two years, also remain with the Buckeyes in support-staff roles.
Who’s Gone
Jayden Fielding (Senior), John Ferlmann (Senior), Jackson Courville (Transfer), Nick McLarty (Transfer)
Ohio State likely would have been in the market for a new kicker even if Fielding still had eligibility, but his college career is now over. Ferlmann also exhausted his eligibility after three years as Ohio State’s starting long snapper, prompting the Buckeyes’ addition of Riggs.
Courville, who had originally been expected to succeed Fielding as Ohio State’s kicker in 2026, transferred to Tulane after just one year with the Buckeyes in which he did not attempt any field goals. McLarty transferred to Arizona State after two years as Ohio State’s backup punter in which he punted just three times in games.
The Big Question
Can Connor Hawkins fix Ohio State’s big-kick woes?
Although Fielding made 78.9% of his field goal attempts over three years, including the game-sealing field goal in the national championship two years ago, he’s most remembered for the kicks he didn’t make, including a pair of misses inside 40 yards in Ohio State’s 2024 loss to Michigan as well as the miss in last year’s Big Ten Championship Game. Before Fielding, Noah Ruggles made a school-record 90.2% of his field goal attempts over two years, yet he’s most remembered for missing a 50-yard field goal attempt wide left in Ohio State’s 2022 Peach Bowl loss to Georgia.
A Buckeye kicker hasn’t made a 50-plus-yard field goal since Blake Haubeil in 2019, and it’s been a long time since an Ohio State kicker has made a long field goal in a game-on-the-line situation. But there’s good reason to believe Hawkins can be the kicker to change that.
Hawkins already showed he has the clutch gene last year at Baylor, when he made a 53-yard game-winner in the final minute against Kansas State as well as a walk-off 27-yard field goal in double overtime vs. SMU. But he still has to prove he can do it at Ohio State, where the pressure to perform is as high as it is anywhere in college football and games that come down to field goals almost always come against marquee opponents on big stages.
We won’t know the answer to this question until Hawkins is actually called upon to kick a long field goal in a close game. But the Buckeyes will look for ways to simulate those situations this spring to test how Hawkins will perform under pressure.
Battle to Watch
Kickoff Returner
While Ohio State’s kicker, punter and long snapper already appear to be set for 2026, and Brandon Inniss will likely handle punt return duties for a third straight season, there should be a real competition at kickoff returner this offseason.
Inniss handled Ohio State’s kickoff return duties for most of last season, too, but didn’t make any big plays in that regard, gaining just 66 yards on five actual returns. Lorenzo Styles Jr. broke Ohio State’s 15-year kickoff return touchdown drought last season, but he’s now on his way to the NFL, so the Buckeyes should be looking this spring for someone who can provide that same kind of spark in the return game.
It’s unknown going into spring who Discher could view as top candidates to lead Ohio State’s kickoff return efforts, but there’s plenty of dynamic athletes on the roster with the potential to be impactful returners. The two most intriguing candidates might be true freshman running back Legend Bey – who Day has compared to Tyreek Hill – and redshirt freshman running back Anthony “Turbo” Rogers, who both offer the combination of long speed and ability to make defenders miss that typically makes a great kickoff returner.
Other players who could be candidates to contribute in the return game include transfer wide receivers Devin McCuin and Kyle Parker, starting running back Bo Jackson and redshirt freshman receiver Phillip Bell. This is perhaps the most mysterious position battle entering spring, and one we might not get an early answer to, but it bears watching over the course of the offseason as Ohio State looks to make more game-changing plays on special teams.
Overall Pre-Spring Outlook
Hawkins’ success at Baylor suggests he has the potential to be Ohio State’s best kicker in a long time, and the hiring of Discher suggests the Buckeyes are taking special teams more seriously this year after devoting fewer resources to it for the past two years, both of which are welcome sights for Ohio State fans.
There’s still a lot that needs to come together for Ohio State to be elite on special teams after years of mediocrity in that phase of the game. McGuire was better in 2025 than he was in 2024, but he was still below FBS average in yards per punt. And special teams is about far more than just the specialists, as making more big plays in the return game and blocking more kicks and/or punts will require finding the right combination of players to put on those units.
What’s promising entering spring is that Day recognized a need for Ohio State to be better on special teams and took tangible steps in January to get better in that area. Now, the next step is for Discher and the Buckeyes to sharpen all of their special teams units during spring practice in hopes of building special teams into the strength it should be for Ohio State.
