Ohio State Coach Ryan Day Expects Justin Fields to be Available Against Alabama

If you weren’t already very familiar with the name Justin Fields before last Friday night, you certainly are now.

Fields, Ohio State’s junior quarterback, was dominant against Clemson in the Sugar Bowl, throwing 22-of-28 for 385 yards and six touchdowns despite suffering an injury that could have sidelined him.

Late in the first half, Fields took a hit to his side that sent him to the sidelines in pain. After receiving an injection, Fields returned to play and arguably played even better than he did before the injury. While Fields was able to play through the pain, he admitted after the game that his ribs hurt him every time he threw the football.

While Fields wasn’t available to speak to the media on Monday as originally scheduled, Ohio State coach Ryan Day was available to speak about the terrific performance his quarterback was able to execute last Friday night against the Tigers.

“I think when you, first off, saw the way that Justin finished the game, it was remarkable,” Day said. “I thought that was one of the gutsiest performances I've ever seen in person. It was like any other situation. It was certainly high profile to see it all go down, but I leave all that stuff up to our medical people who are the best in the country. Justin is such a competitive guy. He wasn't going to come off the field, and that's just the way he's wired. You were going to have to pull him off the field.

“It was a pretty amazing performance. It was good the next day he actually — his comment to me was that he felt better waking up in the morning than he expected. You know, we'll keep working through the week and have a great week of preparation, get ready to play Monday night.”

Day did not disclose the specific injuries that Fields suffered in the game due to Ohio State’s injury and availability policies. However, he did state that he expects Fields to be available next Monday for the title game against Alabama.