East Lansing, Mich. - Michigan State’s questionable place kicking situation just took on a potential new candidate.
Ben Patton, who had success as a back-up kicker at Auburn last year, is heading to Michigan State as a graduate transfer, the university confirmed on Monday.
He is expected to be immediately eligible, and will join the competition for the first-string kicking job for the Spartans this fall, along with true freshman Jack Stone and walk-on sophomore Stephen Rusnak.
Patton - of Rochester Hills (Mich.) Adams High School - served as a back-up kicker at Auburn last year. Due to an injury to the starter, Anders Carlson, Patton was called into duty for the last three games of the 2021 season.
Patton, a left-footer, connected on 5-of-6 field goals for the Tigers, including a long of 49 yards.
The 49-yarder came in double overtime against Alabama and helped force a third overtime.
He attempted five kickoffs last year, one of which resulted in a touchback.
He was 8-of-8 on extra points.
Patton was 1-of-2 on field goals in his first start last year, against South Carolina. He made a 37-yarder and missed a 25-yarder.
He hit a 33-yarder against Alabama, in addition to the 49-yarder in overtime.
The 49-yarder was briefly a legendary moment for Auburn football. Alabama and Auburn were tied at 17-17 in the second overtime when the Tigers were pushed backward seven yards for a fourth-and-17 situation.
Missing the 49-yarder would almost certainly have resulted in an Alabama victory on its next possession.
But that kick - one of the most pressure-packed attempts of the entire college football season for any kicker, considering the magnitude of the Alabama-Auburn rivalry - perfectly split the uprights down the middle.
Auburn’s defense then held serve in the bottom half of the second overtime, and the game entered a third overtime. Alabama eventually won in triple-overtime, putting a damper on the Auburn season and Patton’s almost-legendary kick.
With Carlson returning to Auburn for the 2022 season and having recovering from his ACL injury, Carlson has re-emerged as the Tigers’ No. 1 kicker in August camp.
Patton graduated this month with a bachelor’s degree from the Auburn College of Business.
As a graduate transfer, he is able to enroll immediately and vie for playing time.
He made field goals of 27 and 35 yards against Houston in the Birmingham Bowl.
Patton saw brief action as a true freshman in 2019. He hit two extra points against Stanford and had two kickoffs.
In 2020, he served as a back-up kicker and saw time as a holder.
Patton is expected to be listed as a junior in 2022, with three years of eligibility remaining, when counting a COVID waiver year.
Patton was a member of the SEC academic honor roll.
Patton was first-team all-state at Rochester Adams and was also all-league in baseball.
Stone was regarded as one of the top kicking rectuits at last summer’s prospect camps, but had limited field goal experience in high school.
Rusnak was 0-for-1 on field goals last year and 4-of-5 on extra points while subbing for the injured Matt Coghlin.
Coghlin is MSU’s all-time points scoring leader after serving as the starting place kicker for five seasons.
Tucker hasn't indicated during August camp that the place kicker competition is point of concern.
“The kicker situation, I like what I’m seeing,” Mel Tucker said on Monday, prior to the university’s confirmation that Patton has joined the team. “Jack Stone has good confidence. Rusty (Rusnak) seems like he has more confidence.”