Jayden Fielding Faces the Heat, but Keeps His Focus Ahead of Cotton Bowl
ARLINGTON, Texas - In the high-stakes world of college football, kickers often live on an island. One swing of the leg can make you a hero or a headline for all the wrong reasons. For Ohio State’s Jayden Fielding, that island got a little more isolated after a missed 27-yard field goal late in the Big Ten Championship Game against Indiana - a kick that could have tied the game and potentially changed the Buckeyes’ postseason path.
But for Fielding, the fallout wasn’t just about football. It got personal. It got ugly.
Speaking at Cotton Bowl Media Day inside AT&T Stadium, Fielding opened up about the wave of vitriol that followed the miss - not just directed at him, but at his family. Texts.
Phone calls. Even their home address posted online.
It crossed a line that no athlete, no person, should ever have to deal with.
“When parents are involved and siblings are involved, it’s a little different,” Fielding said. “It’s a little bit scarier… It was really wild there for a while.”
This wasn’t the first time he’s been here. After last season’s narrow 13-10 loss to Michigan - a game where Fielding missed two field goals - the backlash was intense enough that campus police had to escort him to class.
That’s not criticism. That’s harassment.
Still, Fielding bounced back. He delivered in the College Football Playoff, hitting four of five field goals, including a game-clincher against Notre Dame. It was the kind of response you hope for from a player under pressure - not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.
Now, he’s hoping for a similar rebound.
“When you have people texting you things that no other person should probably ever receive, it kind of makes you look at the world a little bit differently,” Fielding said. “It gets you a little bit angry, so yeah (there’s extra motivation to deliver).”
The miss against Indiana? A 27-yarder from the right hash.
Fielding said he overcorrected for the angle and hooked it left. Just a mishit - nothing more, nothing less.
But in the social media age, nuance often gets lost. And the noise can be deafening.
That’s where the Buckeye community stepped in.
Ohio State University police were quick to acknowledge the threats. Athletics director Ross Bjork didn’t mince words, calling the reactions “totally unacceptable.”
“No young man - really no person - should put up with the stuff that was coming his way,” Bjork said. “For us, it was over the top. We’re always going to support our athletes.”
That support has been consistent. Last year, after the Michigan loss, head coach Ryan Day and players like defensive end Jack Sawyer had Fielding’s back.
This year, it’s more of the same. And for a player trying to move past one moment and focus on the next, that backing matters.
“It means a lot,” Fielding said. “You want your head coach to be like, ‘Yeah, he’s going to go out there and do his job.’
I’ve just got to go out there and do my job. If he believes in me, shoot, why can’t I do it?”
That’s the mindset of a kicker who’s been through the fire and is still standing. In a sport where every point counts and every play is magnified, Fielding knows the pressure won’t go away.
But he’s not running from it. He’s facing it - with the full weight of Buckeye Nation behind him.