Justin Fields & Ryan Day Will Be A Duo That Gels
If u listen closely once the calendar hits August in Ohio, you can hear the chin straps fasten.
If you live in the Buckeye state, then I’m sure you are excited for another upcoming season of Ohio State Football. Things don't seem to change much in Columbus from year to year, but that’s not the case with new coach Ryan Day.
Not only do OSU fans have a new coach to welcome in Day, but they also have a new quarterback in Justin Fields. That quarterback-coach relationship will go a long in way in determining how the Buckeyes emerge from the Urban Meyer era. Which, produced success at quarterback from Braxton Miller, Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett and Dwayne Haskins.
What should you know about Fields?
The five-star standout prospect transferred from the University of Georgia after the 2018 season. As a freshman, he tried to beat out Jake Fromm – the entrenched starter – who led the Bulldogs to a national title game appearance as a true freshman.
Once the season ended and Fields had only seen the field sparingly during his freshman stint, he decided to transfer to Ohio State. Largely because of a relationship with Day that started with the recruiting process. Fields also received a waiver to play right away.
This choice makes sense all across the board. The Buckeyes lost their QB to the NFL after Haskins, who accounted for a Big Ten record 50 TDs and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray and Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa.
Fields came to Ohio State knowing he would have to beat out Tate Martell for the starting job, but things changed when Tate transferred to Miami.
Now, it looks like Fields is bound to take the reigns and that should excite Buckeye Nation. There is no doubt in the minds of most that he will be successful. He has a dearth of offensive talent coming back to surround with playmakers such as J.K. Dobbins, K.J. Hill. The offensive line is solid, and freshman Garrett Wilson could make a difference right away.
One thing is for sure, Day and Fields will be forever joined at the hip. Even with Days experience taking over the first four games after the suspension of Urban Meyer at the beginning of last season, he is still a brand new coach. It’s no accident that Fields ended up in Columbus, Coach Day and him seem to have a great relationship and that should carry onto the field. Between Day’s ability to bring the best out of an offense and Fields upside the sky is the limit for the first year tandem.
Should Buckeye fans expect Fields to put up Haskins-esque numbers?
No, but believe he has more than enough talent to lead this team to meet the yearly high expectations. The kid is a hard worker with a cannon for an arm and freakish athletic ability. The best part about him is that we haven't heard much out of Fields this off-season, which tells that he will let his play do the talking.
A good sign that he is focused on the task at hand. What is this task? At minimum, to take this Ohio State back to the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis for the third straight season. Possibly, even back to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2016. Oh, and of course, continue the current seven-game win streak against Michigan.
No matter what happens it’s bound to assume that Coach Day is more than pleased with who he has at the helm. Buckeye Nation should be pumped for the very near future.
Taking a look at future Ohio State offensive lineman!
