Ohio State junior quarterback Justin Fields (1) warms up with his teammates before the Ohio State vs. Alabama National Championship Game. Alabama won 52-24. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Justin Fields will once again be slinging footballs inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, but it won’t be in preparation for Ohio State’s opening game against Minnesota in August.
Instead, Fields — and many of the Buckeyes’ top contributors in the 2020 season — will be participating in the program’s pro day Tuesday while many NFL scouts, coaches and general managers look on. Although the focus will be on the future professionals that are displaying their talents on the field, there will be a younger group of Buckeyes watching, learning and awaiting their turn that could reap benefits from the day.
Head coach Ryan Day said seeing the process and the players taking the next step will have a positive impact on the current players.
“Some of the teammates you played with a few months ago are now going to the NFL and going to the draft, so you realize that it’s right around the corner and that you have to have urgency about you because they’re going to be in that same spot too and they’re going to have that opportunity,” Day said.
Ohio State’s starting quarterback for the past two seasons will be one of the players looking to make a good impression at the pro day.
Day said Fields “checks all the boxes” in terms of what makes a great quarterback, complimenting the Georgia native’s physical and mental attributes.
“Everything you invest in that kid you’re going to get back,” Day said. “I think someone’s going to take a shot at him here early in the draft, and they’re going to have a franchise quarterback for a long time.”
With Fields taking the next step to the professional ranks, Day and the Buckeyes are in search of his successor.
Redshirt freshmen Jack Miller and C.J. Stroud and freshman Kyle McCord are vying for the position, but none of the three quarterbacks have thrown a pass in a game at the collegiate level.
Although unproven, the three quarterbacks’ position of being thrust into the spotlight parallels to Fields’ career, as the then-sophomore quarterback took his first snap as a starter in 2019 after just one season behind Jake Fromm at Georgia.
Day said the loss of spring camp in 2020 and the unusual nature of the season may have impacted the young quarterbacks’ ability to learn, but he said Fields’ example was felt nonetheless.
“I wish there was a couple of years and a normal year where they could have been around it more, to learn more, but they did at least feel it a little bit this past season,” Day said.
Fields’ impact has gone beyond the quarterback room, however.
Switching over to a vegan diet last season, Fields has inspired players, such as senior linebacker Teradja Mitchell, to change their diets.
“I saw how it kinda thinned him out, so I’m like, ‘I’m a big guy so let’s see what it does for me,’ and I went cold turkey, I just stopped and I stuck with it because I started feeling good,” Mitchell said.
Day said the increased emphasis on proper dieting in order to maintain a lean physique is something his current players could pick up from the professional players.
“They come back looking leaner and you can just see they look the part, they put a lot of time into their bodies and so much of it is their diet,” Day said. “So I think when you see that and you combine that with the urgency, it’s a good thing for those guys to see, and they’ll be out there [Tuesday].”
