Ryan Day Talks Justin Fields' Accuracy, Commitment to Excellence
It's no secret that Justin Fields is having a Heisman-caliber season for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He is the unquestioned leader of the offense and he routinely makes difficult plays look easy. The Scarlet and Gray are hoping to ride him to a national championship.
While it's a small sample size, Fields' numbers through two games this year are remarkable: 48-of-55 (.873 completion percentage), 594 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions. I can really only think of one poor decision throwing the football at this point, where he nearly threw an interception last week against Penn State. He's also rushed 21 times for net-50 yards and a touchdown (remember sacks in college football count against rushing yardage and he's been sacked five times for 37 yards).
By all accounts, he's been absolutely spectacular.
But it's his attention to detail and his focus that have particularly impressive. It's led him to be more accurate than ever with the football. Check out this analysis from FOX Sports' lead college football analyst Joel Klatt.
To Joel's point, Fields is among the nation's elite players because of the way he prepares. Ryan Day has consistently referenced with the media the last two weeks how impressed he's been with Fields' ability to take things from the meeting room, to the practice field and ultimately to competition. The two throws referenced in the video clip above showcased his preparation and poise extremely well.
On a 3rd and 8 from his own 40-yard line, Justin Fields stood in the pocket as the protection was breaking down. Fields was under duress with Shaka Toney in hot pursuit behind him, but you never would've known it by his calm demeanor in the pocket. He stepped to his left and waited for Garrett Wilson to break away from Jaquan Brisker. Fields threw a perfect pass to Wilson near the left sideline, where Wilson caught the ball and got blasted out of bounds at the Penn State 34-yard line. The composure on that play was off-the-charts.
"That throw to Garrett (Wilson) was excellent because there was somebody breathing right down his neck," said Ryan Day. "The hot throw to Jeremy was good, there were a couple other ones where he stood right in there and wasn't hopping around. He stayed strong in the pocket. That really helps his accuracy. It's something we spend a lot of time talking about. It's not perfect, but he's certainly getting better and it allows him to be more accurate."
Earlier on Thursday during the Ryan Day Show with Paul Keels and Jim Lachey on the Ohio State Buckeyes Radio Network, Day said that Fields has been working in particular on keeping his head still, having good posture and being balanced. He pointed to examples in other sports of great athleticism and how they translate to playing quarterback - for example, trying to hit a golf ball while off balance or trying to hit a baseball when your head is moving all over the place.
Fields told the media earlier this fall that he was trying hard to understand why things work the way they do, whereas last year his mindset was more around mastering the terminology and executing what plays were called. But because of his attention to detail and focus this year, Ryan Day has given Fields increased leverage within the offense. Day said he's given Fields (among other things) the ability to adjust protections at the line of scrimmage and the ability to opt-out of plays that don't look right when they line up at the line.
"When we call a play, we are talking to you," Day said. "The maturity of a quarterback is evident when he is seeing the same things as the play-caller. What do you think we are looking for when we call this play? The more you do that, the more in-sync you get."
Day and Fields trust each other implicitly and the result of that is turning into a thrilling season for the Buckeyes. Fields' ability to consistently deliver passes right on the money, at all levels of the field, whether he's under pressure or not is must-watch football for fans across the nation.
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