Mike Nugent Michael Nugent ( born March 2 , 1982 ) is an American football placekicker for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for Ohio State University , and was recognized as an All - American . He was drafted by the New York Jets in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft , and has also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Arizona Cardinals of the NFL . Early years . Nugent was born in Centerville , Ohio . He attended Centerville High School , and played kicker and quarterback on the football team . He was a teammate of current Green Bay Packers linebacker A . J . Hawk on the school ' s football team . As a senior kicker , he converted on five out of seven field goal attempts of greater than fifty yards ( 24 of 27 altogether ) , kicked a 55 - yard field goal ( career long ) twice , and was 29 out of 29 extra point attempts . College career . While attending Ohio State University , Nugent played for coach Jim Tressel ' s Ohio State Buckeyes football team from 2001 to 2004 . During his four - year career at Ohio State , he broke or tied 22 school records , including most points in a career by any player at Ohio State ( 356 ) . He completed 72 of 88 field goal attempts and 140 of 143 extra point attempts . He was recognized as a consensus first - team All - American as a sophomore in 2002 and again as a unanimous All - American senior in 2004 , and received the Lou Groza Award as the nation ' s top college placekicker in 2004 . He also was part of the 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes Division I National Championship team . He became the first kicker in Buckeyes team history to earn team most valuable player honors . Professional career . New York Jets . Nugent was drafted by the New York Jets in the second round and played four seasons with the team . During the opening game of the 2008 NFL season , Nugent injured his quadriceps following an extra point . To replace Nugent the Jets signed Jay Feely , who performed so well in the position that he became the Jets ' starter while Nugent , who eventually recovered from his injury , was forced to stay on the bench . Tampa Bay Buccaneers . An unrestricted free agent in the 2009 offseason , Nugent signed a one - year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on March 4 and won the job over Matt Bryant in the preseason due to Bryant ' s injury . After converting just two of his first six tries ( 2 blocked ) through four games , Nugent was released by the Buccaneers on October 5 . Nugent worked out for the Baltimore Ravens on November 10 , but was not signed . Arizona Cardinals . Nugent signed with the Arizona Cardinals on December 16 , 2009 as a temporary replacement for the injured Neil Rackers . He was waived by the Cardinals on January 2 , 2010 . Cincinnati Bengals . Nugent signed with the Cincinnati Bengals on April 23 , 2010 . He competed with Dave Rayner throughout training camp and the preseason for the Bengals starting job . Nugent eventually won the competition when the Bengals released Rayner on September 4 , 2010 , after Nugent made 54 - and 52 - yard field goals in the team ' s final two preseason games . Nugent was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for the month of September by going 8 for 8 on field goal tries in the Bengals ' first three games of the season . In 2011 , Nugent set franchise records for points ( 132 ) and field goals ( 33 ) . He signed a one - year contract tender with the Bengals for the 2012 season , and on March 10 , 2013 , the Bengals re - signed Nugent to a two - year deal .