Ohio State QB Justin Fields Declares for 2021 NFL Draft

Ohio State star quarterback Justin Fields is entering the 2021 NFL draft, he announced on Twitter Monday.

Fields wrote that he is forgoing his senior year with the Buckeyes, writing, "My path to The Ohio State University was not a direct one, but I could not have asked for a better final destination."

He is expected to be a first-round pick and one of the first quarterbacks taken in the upcoming draft. 

Fields lost just two games at Ohio State, falling to Clemson in the 2019 semifinal and Alabama in last Monday's national championship. In 2019, he was the first Big Ten player with 40-plus passing touchdowns and 10-plus rushing touchdowns in the same season. This past season, Fields threw for 2,100 yards in eight games with OSU, tossing 22 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also added 383 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. 

In both of his two years in Columbus, he led the Big Ten in passing yards, passing touchdowns and touchdowns responsible for. 

Fields began his college career at Georgia, but threw just 39 passes during his freshman season and later transferred to Ohio State.

On Sunday, Buckeyes running back Trey Sermon also announced he was also entering this year's draft.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the lead-up to the draft will also look different. The MMQB's Albert Breer reported recently that "the idea of having the combine in Indianapolis in any sort of traditional manner on time is dead."

The NFL draft is currently set to begin on April 29 and run through May 1.