The kicking situation has been a constant headache for Ryan Day. It was one of the reasons why they lost the conference championship and a semifinal spot in the playoffs. Ryan Day has loaded the kicker room (to an extent), and ironically, one of his new kickers ended his career at Notre Dame on a bad note.

Ohio State brought on former Fighting Irish kicker Marcello Diomede from the portal as a walk-on. The addition of Diomede, a walk-on who only attempted three extra points last season, might not seem significant to Buckeye fans at first glance. But Irish fans will remember him very well, considering he missed a clutch play in 2025. Freeman and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock did not overlook it.

That missing third extra point is from the Boston College game. Notre Dame was already in trouble with its kicking game, as starter Noah Burnette had missed one extra point. To make matters worse, his replacement, Erik Schmidt, had the same fate with a field goal. Then came Marcello Diomede, who failed to gain an extra point in the third quarter. After the miss, Freeman could be seen talking with the unfortunate kicker on the sidelines quite frantically.

“If you’re rotating three kickers, you don’t have one,” Freeman told the press after the game.

That one mistake convinced the Fighting Irish head coach that Diomede was no longer in the team’s plans. Freeman then made Erik Schmidt start at kicker in place of Noah Burnette during the second half of the season. Diomede did not play in the two games after Boston College but resumed his kickoff duties.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

Sensing his time at Notre Dame was over, he entered the portal before the season wrapped up, and Ryan Day quickly offered him a chance at redemption.

Ohio State will welcome all the help possible at kicker, because there isn’t much depth at the position. Diomede comes in with some P4 experience to back up expected starter Conner Hawkins. The other kicker available is Cooper Peterson, who is a 2026 walk-on recruit out of high school. Diomede will probably not compete with Hawkins for a starting opportunity because he will likely be tasked with kickoffs. At Notre Dame, he recorded a total of 17 kickoffs, which helped him haul in 1088 yards and 11 touchbacks.

It might not seem like it at the moment, but special teams is the most fragile unit on the team. The entire unit will have new faces for 2026, and fans will hope they don’t repeat the nightmarish mistakes from last season.

Why kickers became an alarming position in Ryan Day’s 2026 plans

Ryan Day and Marcus Freeman may be rivals, but they shared a similar pain when it came to kickers. Jayden Fielding’s missed field goals plagued Ohio State during clutch moments. He failed two attempts against Michigan in 2024, and one each against Indiana (Big Ten Championship) and Miami (Cotton Bowl) in 2025. The bigger mistake was maybe Day’s, because he chose to hang onto Fielding when he had a backup in Jackson Courville.

There was panic among Buckeye fans when Courville hit the transfer portal. That left Ryan Day with no starting kicker, as Fielding exhausted his eligibility. Unlike 2024, the OSU head coach was forced to turn to the portal this time. He picked up Hawkins along with punter Brady Young and long snapper Dalton Riggs. And then, of course, comes Diomede.

The biggest change, however, is at the top. For the first time since 2023, Ohio State will have a special teams coordinator. Day got Illinois’ Robby Discher for the job, who developed David Olano into an All-Big Ten selection. He finished sixth in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (87%). At Ohio State, Discher faces an even bigger challenge because he has to work with a room that lacks much experience. The good news for the new coordinator is that he’ll have backups like Marcello Diomede ready if the starter falters.