Ohio State Kicker Jake Seibert Moves To Cornerback For Fall Camp

Wearing the No. 16 rather than his usual No. 98, Ohio State redshirt sophomore kicker Jake Seibert went through position drills with the cornerbacks during the first practice of fall camp on Thursday morning.

“He had played some wide receiver and corner in high school, and he wanted to kind of bring some different value,” head coach Ryan Day said after practice. “He’s still going to work on kicking and do that part of it, but he’s also going to bring value to other positions.”

Seibert, who was considered the second-best kicker in the country in the class of 2020, converted 1-of-2 field goals and all 16 extra point attempts during his true freshman season in place of starter Blake Haubeil, who missed two games with a groin injury and another with COVID.

He was then expected to take over the job last season but lost a competition in fall camp to North Carolina transfer Noah Ruggles, who went on to be named a finalist for the Lou Groza Award after hitting all but one of his field goals in 2021.

With Ruggles now back for his extra year of eligibility and USC transfer Parker Lewis likely to be cleared by the NCAA in the coming weeks, playing time would likely be hard to come by for Seibert once again.

Meanwhile, Ohio State has just six scholarship cornerbacks on its roster this fall in fifth-year senior Cameron Brown, sophomores Denzel Burke and Jordan Hancock, redshirt freshman Jakailin Johnson and freshmen Jyaire Brown and Ryan Turner.

Thus, Seibert could provide some valuable depth and athleticism to the position, as he notably caught 57 passes for 1,021 yards and 10 touchdowns and recorded two tackles on defense during his high school career at Cincinnati La Salle.

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