A series of profiles on members of the Buckeyes’ 2020 recruiting class who redshirted their true freshman seasons, including a look back at how their first year went, and an evaluation of where they stand in the program ahead of 2021.

Jake Seibert got more work than he or the Buckeye coaching staff probably would have expected in 2020.

With trusty veteran and all-time accurate Ohio State kicker Blake Haubeil still on the roster at the start of last season, and fresh off a 55-yard make that was tied for the second-longest in program history in 2019, there was little reason to wonder about the Buckeyes’ depth at the position.

However, that changed quickly when Haubeil injured his groin and left Ohio State’s second game of the season against Penn State, leaving Dominic DiMaccio to fill in. After missing a short kick in the second half though, the Buckeye coaching staff turned to Seibert, a true freshman.

The top kicker in the 2020 class, the Cincinnati, Ohio, native and La Salle High School alum went on to take kicks in three games for Ohio State during his first year, including matchups with Rutgers, Indiana and Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

Seibert finished a perfect 16-for-16 on extra points, and wasn’t asked to do too much in terms of field goal attempts, going just 1-for-2 on a small sample size.

With Haubeil pursuing a professional future after his jilted senior season though, the stage appeared to be set for Seibert to take over full time as the Buckeyes’ No. 1 kicker during Year Two in Columbus.

Seibert missed his first field-goal attempt in April's spring game, but new special teams coordinator Parker Fleming said he's seen improvement from the Cincinnati, Ohio, native over the offseason.

"Jake’s development has been really good," Fleming said in April. "Had a great winter to get stronger and work through tough –– there’s a lot of things specialists need, mentally, physically, all that.”

But Seibert may no longer be the surefire No. 1 following something of a surprise roster addition by the Buckeyes in early June.

North Carolina transfer Noah Ruggles committed to the program on June 9, and even though he was only the Tar Heels’ primary kicker for one season, his experience does trump Seibert’s own at this stage.

With the arrival of Ruggles, Seibert might just be in for more of a competition for the starting job than he expected coming out of spring, but given that he’s entering just his second year at Ohio State, he will have plenty of chances to emerge as the go-to guy at the position in the future.