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USC kicker Parker Lewis entered the transfer portal in December, and he is still deciding where he’ll play his football in 2022. Most recently, Lewis visited Columbus for Ohio State’s spring game, and he already noticed a difference between there and his former school.
“I was telling my dad, there were more fans in that stadium than there were any USC home game I played my freshman and sophomore year. And that was a spring game,” Lewis told Eleven Warriors. “So football is like a religion out here. I mean, people would just eat, sleep, breathe it. It was super cool to see how big of a deal it was out here.”
Lewis spent 2021 as the Trojans’ primary placekicker, making 17 of 22 field goal attempts and 23 of 24 extra point attempts.
Ohio State’s returning kicker, Noah Ruggles, is returning after a strong season where he made 20 of 21 field goal attempts and all 74 extra point attempts. However, Lewis mentioned he has the confidence that he can win the job if he chooses the Buckeyes.
“What they said is, ‘This wouldn’t be Ohio State if we played favorites,’” Lewis said. “So they obviously are interested in me doing kickoffs, but I’m very interested in having the field goal job as well. If I end up going to Ohio State, it’ll mean I feel like I could win that job.”
