Right now, the number 39 is a very important number for redshirt sophomore kicker Josiah Yazdani. Not only is it the number on his jersey, but also the number of points he’s recorded in his first season as Ohio’s starting kicker.
After hitting two field goals and four extra points in Ohio’s 41-16 victory against Miami Saturday, Yazdani moved in to second on the Bobcats in points behind redshirt senior running back Ryan Boykin and earned the Mid-American Conference East special teams player of the week Monday.
On the season, he’s made all six of his field goal attempts and each of his 21 extra point tries. Ohio also ranks 14th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in terms of kickoff return yardage allowed, which also reflects on Yazdani, who held kickoff duty all season.
Yazdani couldn’t be more thankful for all of the success he’s had this season, taking over the starting placekicking job in the MAC-opener against Akron and said it’s a far cry from where he was a few years ago.
“I had a lot of injuries and bad things happen earlier in my life,” Yazdani said. “So to be able to come back a year after I tore up my knee is really great. … It feels good.”
But he said his success with kicking field goals, as well as his strong performance on kickoffs, is mostly due to his teammates.
“It’s a team thing,” Yazdani said. “On kickoffs, I’d have a horrible average if people weren’t tackling and I wouldn’t make a field goal if they don’t block.”
Coach Frank Solich is happy to have consistent production at the kicking position, and he said that it’s hard to win many football games without a good field goal kicker.
The Bobcats struggled putting the ball through the uprights earlier in the season, as redshirt sophomore Matt Green, a transfer from Oklahoma State, struggled with accuracy, converting just four of his nine field goals attempts.
This also perplexes Solich, who said Yazdani struggled earlier this season during practice.
“In fall camp and in early practices, he was not statistically our best kicker,” Solich said.
“It was to the point where, even (last) week, he didn’t necessarily kick well during practice. But when he gets in games and he gets under pressure, he seems to come through and do a great job.”
The in-game successes and in-practice struggles confuse Yazdani as well, who can’t put a finger on what makes him better on game day.
“I don’t know. I can’t explain it honestly,” he said. “I don’t have great weeks of practice and then I go out there in the game, and right when the game starts, it seems like it clicks.
The whole week during practice I feel really uncomfortable and then on game time I feel comfortable.”
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