On Monday, while most of the Ohio State football team was enjoying its day off, senior kicker Mike Nugent was at Centerville High School in Ohio, practicing with the varsity football team.

And while his teammates were doing homework or watching television, he was talking to seventh graders, sharing with them what it takes to succeed. Nugent’s message was one he follows closely – work hard and never give up.

‘Mike has made himself what he is,’ said Ron Ullery, Centerville football’s head coach. ‘He’s the best kicker in college football and that’s all Mike’s work.’

Nugent has done nothing to disprove his former coach’s statement. After nailing a 55-yard field goal as time ran out to win against Marshall on Sept. 11, Nugent kicked five field goals, a school record, last week in a 22-14 win over North Carolina State.

‘That was a long kick,’ Bob Pruett, Marshall’s head coach said. ‘I guess that is the reason he is an All-American.’

While talk about the Lou Groza Award, given to the best kicker in college football, and even the Heisman surrounds Nugent, he remains focused on the fact that his success has stemmed from his intense work ethic.

As a child, Nugent and his father would put hours into football, videotaping his kicking technique so that he could see the areas where he could improve. In his senior year of high school, Nugent played quarterback on top of his kicking duties. Whatever his team needed to win, Nugent would do.

And nothing has changed since Nugent arrived at Ohio State.

He attended every off-season workout session, even if the kickers were not required to go, just to help out. Instead of hanging on the sideline until he was needed, Nugent would jump in with the defensive backs, running routes and doing drills.

This team-first mentality led to something rarely seen at any level of football – the kicker was elected as team captain.

‘Ohio State voting him a captain speaks volumes about Mike,’ Ullery said. ‘It’s always team first. He’s a football player, not just a kicker. Mike’s a very competitive and tough athlete.’

And Ohio State almost didn’t have him.

Nearing the end of the scholarship signing period in his senior year of high school, Nugent was on his way for an official visit at Pittsburgh. Jim Tressel, in his first week as Ohio State head coach, was concerned about the Buckeyes’ kicking situation and called Centerville to inform Ullery that OSU wanted to recruit Nugent. Anxious to give the good news, Ullery called the Nugents while they were on their way to Pittsburgh.

‘I called them and talked to his dad, but Mike was sleeping,’ Ullery said. ‘When he woke up and found out, he wanted to turn the car around right there. They went to Pitt for the visit, but Ohio State, that’s where he wanted to be.

‘When you’re from Ohio, you love football and you love Ohio State, that’s all there is to it.’

And the Buckeyes are glad to have him. When the game’s on the line, OSU will never hesitate to call on Nugent. Tressel, usually reserved, has nothing but praise for his captain.

‘He’s a learner, he’s a studier, he’s been in the fray,’ Tressel said. ‘He may end up going down as one of the best kickers in college football.’

While Nugent has made his mark on the Ohio State record book and a future in the NFL may await him, he still enjoys going back to Centerville and working with kids that might follow in his footsteps. If that happens, for Nugent it would feel better than a game-winning field goal.

Said Ullery: ‘Even more than he’s a great football player, he’s a great person.’

Eric McMillan, a starting cornerback at Idaho, was pronounced dead on Monday morning after being shot at his house on Sunday, according to a press release from the Moscow Police Department.

By the time police arrived at McMillan’s house, he had already been taken to the hospital by a friend, the release added.

Based on license plate and car descriptions given by witnesses, police chased a car that reportedly sped away from McMillan’s house for 150 miles. The chase ended in Vantage, Wash., when Matthew and James Wells were arrested.

The motive for the shooting was not clear, police said.

The Vandals play Oregon on Saturday.

‘It’s very difficult to deal with that type of situation where the young man is here one day and gone the next,’ said Mike Bellotti, Oregon’s head coach. ‘It’s another one of those tragedies that’s very difficult to explain. It takes situations where it happens to somebody you know and care about to hit home.’

The head of the Southeastern Conference officials said that the referee crew working Tennessee’s 28-27 win over Florida made a mistake with the game clock that allowed the Volunteers more time on their final drive.

With 55 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Florida wide receiver Dallas Baker was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after his teammate, DeShawn Wynn, was stopped on a running play.

Bobby Gaston, SEC supervisor of officials, told the Associated Press that since the play before the penalty was a run, the game clock should have started when the referee signaled he was ready – usually signified by a winding motion of the arm. Instead, the clock was started when the ball was snapped for a Florida punt, giving the Vols more time on their final drive.

Tennessee kicker James Wilhoit kicked a 50-yard field goal with six seconds left to win the game.

Published on September 22, 2004 at 12:00 pm