Ohio State’s lengthy list of absences is bound to have a significant impact on Monday’s national championship, but one position may be more notable than the others.
Ohio State’s regular kicker, Blake Haubeil, is among those ruled out of the game after testing positive for COVID-19. To make matters worse, backup kicker Dominic DiMaccio has also been ruled out of the game due to health and safety protocols.
The absences of Ohio State’s top two kickers will force them to lean on freshman Jake Seibert. Seibert was the No. 2 kicking prospect in the 2020 recruiting class but is very inexperienced. He attempted just one field goal all season, a 44-yard try against Indiana that he missed. He has converted all 13 extra point attempts.
The list of absences is very long, but Haubeil and DiMaccio could be particularly huge misses. One has to wonder if the Buckeyes will forget about trying most field goals and change their game plan accordingly.
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