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. 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.

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 has signed a one-year contract tender with the Bengals for the 2012 season, but is still in the midst of long-term contract negotiations.