How Jackson Kleather Became the Kicker Northwestern Could Count On

When Jackson Kleather walked onto the field with five seconds remaining in a tie game against Michigan State, he was preparing to attempt the first game-winning field goal of his career.

Five years earlier, about an hour away in Saline, Michigan, Kleather attended his first kicking camp believing he had no future in the sport. Now a 21-year-old Northwestern senior, he had come a long way from that moment of doubt. As he prepared for the biggest kick of his career, Kleather said he offered a quick prayer and leaned on the work he had put in to reach that point.

For Dan and Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach David Braun, nothing needed to be said to his kicker before he took the field.

Long before he became a Northwestern kicker, Kleather grew up playing center midfielder with dreams of a career in professional soccer.

He first considered kicking during the summer after his freshman year of high school, when his soccer teammate Ben Sauls, now a professional kicker, encouraged him to give it a try. After his junior year, Kleather made the difficult decision to leave soccer behind and pursue football full time, despite advice from others to stick with his original sport. By his senior year, he had broken three school records and earned First Team All-State honors.

“For me, the biggest difference between football and soccer is the mentality,” Kleather said. “Throughout soccer to go out there and perform. I could just step out there and I could do my job, but kicking is, in my opinion, 99% mental. Anybody can step out there and kick a ball, but what becomes challenging is when you have to step out there with a snap and a hold and do it in 1.28 seconds.”

Alex Bayer, Kleather’s special teams coordinator at Bowling Green, noticed something special about the kicker early on. During Bowling Green’s specialist invitational camp, Kleather, a Tipp City, Ohio, native, didn’t miss a kick all day, Bayer said.

Despite that performance, Kleather didn’t get an opportunity to attempt a field goal during his freshman year at Bowling Green, instead finding his way onto the field as a punter. Bayer said Kleather performed so well in that role that the coaching staff considered keeping him at punter, even as he emerged as the starting placekicker after fall camp his sophomore year.

Kleather’s first college field goal attempt came on the road against then-No. 8 Penn State. He made both of his field goal attempts and all three of his extra point attempts in a 34-27 loss to the Nittany Lions.

“Stepping into that first field goal was such an amazing opportunity for me because I was able to go out there and just trust the process," Kleather said. “I take my steps, and as soon as I get back in my steps, I look at the uprights and take one big, deep breath. That deep breath is kind of just a release of all nerves, all worries, all anxieties for me. And the only thing I’m thinking about is just kicking the ball.”

Kleather’s sophomore season ended after only six games though, when he tore a muscle in his quad. He said having football taken away from him took a toll both physically and mentally.

Kleather began working with life and performance coach Dr. Michael Brown during his recovery. He credits Brown with helping redefine his approach to kicking and develop a mentality that could withstand challenges on and off the field. Brown described Kleather as having a “mind of steel” and said he used his season-ending injury to propel himself forward.

“I believe he is as good as he is because of the adversity,” Dr. Brown said. “When you are facing that moment, we see two different kinds of athletes: those who get bitter and those who get better. He chose better, not bitter. Not by chance, but with work, focus and time with me.” 

When Kleather returned for his junior year, Bayer noticed improvements in both his physical ability and his approach to the game.

In his first game back, Kleather made a career-long 56-yard field goal, three additional field goals and two extra points, earning MAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors.

“When he came back from his injury, he had five to eight extra yards on his ball, and had a lot more power,” Bayer said. “You could hear it in the thud of the football.”

Kleather made 86.4% of his field goal attempts, the 13th-best percentage among FBS kickers with at least 20 attempts. Even more impressively, half of Kleather's attempts came from 40 or more yards. He also converted all of his extra point attempts, earning All-MAC Second Team honors and becoming a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, which recognizes the nation’s top placekicker.

For Kleather, the decision to enter the transfer portal was a difficult one. Leaving Bowling Green meant saying goodbye to coaches and teammates he had grown close to, while also navigating a long-distance relationship with his fiancée.

Once he decided to transfer, however, the choice was never in question.

Now at Northwestern, Kleather has continued to establish himself as one of the Big Ten’s top kickers. He opened the Wildcats’ game against Penn State with a 50-yard field goal, scoring the first points ever at New Ryan Field.

Kleather connects for the first points at @NewRyanField! https://t.co/0b7UdrLEv6

— Northwestern Football (@NUFBFamily) October 3, 2026

The following week, Kleather made a 52-yard field goal against Ball State, the second-longest in Northwestern history. Northwestern special teams coordinator Paul Creighton said Kleather’s development reflects how well he has fit into the program.

“For kickers, a lot of times, being in an environment where you can thrive helps you reach your potential,” Creighton said. “Northwestern is a perfect fit for Jackson.” 

Kleather arrived in East Lansing looking to keep that momentum going, but ran into struggles pregame. He described his warmup before Saturday’s matchup as “very poor,” a performance that could have very easily shaken his confidence before kickoff. 

Brown, who attended the game, said the mindset he and Kleather had developed together helped the kicker move past the difficult warmup.

“He came over to me, and I just smiled at him,” Brown said. “I was like, ‘How’d that feel?’ He goes, ‘Great! I got all the bad ones out of the way. Now it’s time to play the game.’”

Later that afternoon, Kleather faced a far more consequential test.

After Michigan State stopped Northwestern on fourth down deep in Wildcats territory, Northwestern blocked the Spartans’ ensuing field goal attempt to keep the game tied at 21.

With about a minute remaining, the Wildcats drove into field goal range, putting the outcome in Kleather’s hands. Linebacker and team captain Braydon Brus said he never doubted the senior kicker.

Kleather. CLUTCH. https://t.co/33KVtB96EP

— Northwestern Football (@NUFBFamily) October 17, 2026

“I have the utmost faith and trust in Jackson,” Brus said. “Just his process, watching him throughout this whole offseason, watching him through camp, just how he operates, I had no doubt at all that he was going to absolutely drill that field goal.” 

Kleather now enters the back half of the season tied for fifth in made field goals among Power 4 kickers and second in the Big Ten. His goal is to avoid missing a field goal from inside 50 yards.

Five years after he struggled to envision a future in kicking, Kleather is striving for perfection. The irony isn’t lost on the senior, who said his journey has been shaped by hard work, adversity and his faith.

“On the field and off, I think it's my confidence that has grown the most,” Kleather said.  Stepping in, I was super timid, and I was extremely worried about what other people thought and performing for them. I've grown to understand that I'm only performing to go out there and glorify God. Now my focus is on growing as a person outside and inside of football.”