Ohio State lands commitment from former Baylor kicker Connor Hawkins

COLUMBUS — Ohio State has found its kicker from the transfer portal: former Baylor kicker Connor Hawkins has committed to the Buckeyes.

Hawkins will have three years of eligibility remaining at Ohio State.

On Wednesday, Lettermen Row first reported that Hawkins would visit the Buckeyes facility on Thursday. Now instead of using that visit to convince him to kick for Ohio State, the Buckeyes will simply just need to show him around his new practice facility.

Hawkins, a Liberty Hill, Texas, native, was the starter for the Bears this season, connecting on 81.8 percent of his kicks. He connected on 18 of his 22 field goal attempts with a long of 54 yards on the season. He was 8 of 12 on field goals longer than 40 yards, including five made field goals out of eight tries between 40 and 49 yards, becoming one of the premier kickers in the Big 12 during his first season as a starter.

His long of 54 came in the season finale against Houston on Nov. 29.

Ohio State hasn’t made a field goal of longer than 49 yards since 2019, when Blake Haubiel connected from 55 yards out. The Buckeyes have been through the consistency, but never the long range, of Noah Ruggles and the inconsistencies from all spots on the field from Jayden Fielding in the last few seasons.

Ryan Day and his staff are hoping to bring an end to the inconsistencies and struggles from their field-goal kicker — especially from long range — so they turned to the transfer portal. Connor Hawkins appears to be the answer the Buckeyes are looking for.

The Ohio State roster lost Fielding, the starter from the last two seasons, to graduation, and lost backup Jackson Courville to the transfer portal. He committed to kick for Tulane next season. So the Buckeyes were left with no kickers on their roster following the season.

Now they have one. Former Baylor kicker Connor Hawkins is heading to Columbus to be the next kicker for Ohio State.

Ohio State in the transfer portal

The Buckeyes have added the following players from the transfer portal:

Former Ohio tight end Mason Williams
Former UCF long-snapper Dalton Riggs
Former UCF defensive tackle John Walker
Former UTSA wide receiver Devin McCuin
Former Wisconsin linebacker Christian Alliegro
Former Alabama EDGE Qua Russaw
Former Alabama defensive tackle James Smith
Former Florida State defensive back Earl Little Jr.
Former Duke safety Terry Moore
Former Maryland quarterback Justyn Martin
Former Baylor kicker Connor Hawkins