He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he won the Lou Groza Award in 2004, and was twice recognized as a consensus All-American.

He was selected by the New York Jets in the second round of the 2005 NFL draft, and also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, Oakland Raiders, and New England Patriots during his 16-year career.

[1] He attended Centerville High School, and played kicker and quarterback on the Elks football team.

[7] Inducted into the Ohio State University Athletic Hall of Fame; September 6, 2019 Nugent was selected by the New York Jets in the second round (47th overall) of the 2005 NFL draft.

[16] Nugent signed with the Arizona Cardinals on December 16, 2009, as a temporary replacement for the injured Neil Rackers.

[28] On January 4, 2015, Nugent kicked a career-long 58-yard field goal during the AFC first-round playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts.

On October 11, 2015, Nugent made a winning field goal against the Seattle Seahawks in overtime in Week 5, 2015.

[29] In Nugent's seven-year run in Cincinnati, he helped the Bengals win the AFC North Division Championship in 2013 and 2015.

Head coach Marvin Lewis described it as a "difficult decision" and noting that Nugent was a "tremendous teammate" and had been an integral part of the team for seven seasons.

[30] On August 1, 2017, Nugent signed with the New York Giants where he would compete with Aldrick Rosas for the starting position.

[32] On October 24, 2017, Nugent was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as a stand-in for injured Dan Bailey, reuniting with Rich Bisaccia who was his special teams coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.