Pete Golding on Ohio State QB Justin Fields: "He's Come a Long Way"
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Believe it or not, Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding has had to prepare for Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields before.
Golding was a defensive assistant under coach Nick Saban in 2018 when Alabama faced Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. While Fields wasn’t the starter, he was still a threat as a backup quarterback that the Crimson Tide’s staff took notice of in their preparations.
During his availability with the media on Thursday morning, Golding said that Fields has grown a lot since his time with the Bulldogs.
“Yeah, obviously I think he looks much more veteran,” Golding said. “I think he does a good job of getting them in and out of plays. Obviously they're a big check-with-me team, and based on the shell and the front he can control the run game and the pass game.”
Last Friday against Clemson in the Sugar Bowl, Fields had a field day with the Tigers defense despite suffering an injury to his side in the first quarter. Obviously in some substantial pain for the remaining three quarters, Fields was still able to throw 22-for-28 for 385 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. He was also able to rush eight times for 42 yards.
According to Golding, a lot of Fields’ success stems from him being able to understand opposing defenses and expose them — something that comes along with experience.
“I think he's come a long way obviously of understanding coverages and fronts and the how they fit together,” Golding said. “He does a really nice job of getting them in and out of plays. Obviously I think he's got a really good arm, a really strong arm, another one. He threw on his back foot 68 yards last week for the touchdown, but I think his accuracy has improved.”
While it showed steady improvement over the course of the season, the last two outings for the Crimson Tide’s defense have not been its best performances of the year. Against Florida in the SEC title game, Alabama gave up 462 yards — 408 of those in the air — and surrendered 46 points to the Gators.
Against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl, Alabama allowed the Fighting Irish to total 375 yards. While the Crimson Tide only gave up 14 points to the Irish, the results were worrisome heading into its matchup in the CFP National Championship.
While Fields might still be recovering from his injuries sustained against Clemson, he is still a threat to be reckoned with. If anything, Fields performed better after his injury that before he received it. That could give Alabama some trouble come Monday night in Miami.
To Golding, Fields presents a threat both in the air and on the ground.
“I think he's done a better job of keeping his feet in the pocket and keeping his eyes downfield, but he still has the ability to be able to hurt you and tuck it and run. So I really think he's become a complete quarterback, not labeled as an athlete.
“I think he can make the throws, can make the checks, understand his coverages, so I think he's really grown up.”
