How an undisclosed injury changed Ohio State football’s championship path

COLUMBUS, Ohio – When Ohio State kicker Jaden Fielding missed two crucial field goals in the 13-10 loss to Michigan last season, he instantly became one of the most scrutinized players on the team. What fans didn’t know was that he had been kicking with a serious injury since early in the season.

On the latest episode of Buckeye Talk, Stefan Krajisnik revealed a bombshell about Fielding’s 2024 campaign: “Their third game of the season was against Marshall, and in that game, he tore his abductor in his right hip and he kicks with his right leg.” This revelation puts Fielding’s entire season in a new light. The kicker who became a lightning rod for criticism after the Michigan game was actually attempting to relearn his kicking motion while dealing with a significant injury.“The way he learned to kick with that injury was through trial and error. And that trial and error came in games,” Krajisnik explained. “We saw the trial. We saw the error.

Those errors became most visible against Michigan, where two missed field goals potentially altered the trajectory of Ohio State’s season. As Stephen Means pointed out on the podcast, had Fielding made those kicks, the narrative would have been completely different: “A game Ohio State lost 13 to 10, where if he makes the two field goals, which were essentially chip shots, no matter how bad the offense played that day, they still walk away with a 16-13 win.”

But as the hosts discussed, perhaps the loss to Michigan created the adversity that ultimately fueled Ohio State’s championship run. The team’s famous meeting after the Michigan loss may never have happened without those missed kicks, potentially changing the chemistry that led them to a national title.

While Fielding did contribute to the championship with successful kicks in both the Rose Bowl and the national championship game, he’s still not satisfied with his overall performance. According to Krajisnik, Fielding felt “my team won this championship, but I didn’t do my part to the best of my ability.

Looking ahead to 2025, there’s reason for optimism. Fielding is now fully healthy for the first time in nearly a year. “He said this is the best he’s felt in about eight or nine months,” noted Krajisnik. The kicker can already feel the difference in his kicks, not in the sound but “from the ball flight and the way it feels coming off his foot.

Most importantly, despite a season where he went 13 of 17 on field goals, Fielding maintained his confidence throughout the ordeal. That self-belief, coupled with his improved health, could make him a significant asset for Ohio State’s 2025 campaign.

As Means pointed out on the podcast: “The scapegoat is they tried to run the ball of Michigan’s defensive.” It wasn’t all on Fielding, but now that the full story is coming to light, Buckeye fans might look at their kicker with new appreciation as he enters what could be a redemption season in 2025.

So before making judgments about Ohio State’s kicking game next season, remember there’s more to the story than what we saw on the field in 2024. Sometimes the most important parts of college football happen away from the cameras.