Ohio State junior quarterback Justin Fields (1) protects himself against a Nebraska player during the Ohio State-Nebraska game on Oct. 24. Ohio State won 52-17. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
In a season full of adversity, junior quarterback Justin Fields battled through pain to tally a signature performance and avenge Ohio State’s loss to Clemson in 2020.
With six passing touchdowns — an Ohio State bowl game record — against Clemson in the Sugar Bowl, Fields overcame a shot to his ribs in the second quarter to advance the Buckeyes to the College Football Playoff National Championship. Fields finished the eight-game season with 2,100 passing yards, 22 passing touchdowns and six interceptions to go along with five touchdowns on the ground.
With COVID-19 concerns and the Big Ten’s decision to initially postpone the season, Fields’ junior season almost never happened.
“He could’ve packed his bags and left,” head coach Ryan Day said Sept. 19, 2020, on Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff.” “He never wavered once. He never even thought about leaving. He looked me in the eye and said, ‘Coach, the NFL will come one day. I want to win a national championship with this team, and I want to win a Heisman Trophy.’ And that was it. We never had another conversation.”
The Georgia native’s final collegiate season began with an absurd level of efficiency. Through three games, Fields had as many touchdown passes as incompletions with 11 of each.
Fields tossed five interceptions in his next three games but helped navigate the Buckeyes through COVID-19 complications that could have derailed their season.
The Buckeyes finished the regular season with a 5-0 record that placed them in the Big Ten Championship. The perfect start moved Fields to 17-0 as a starter in regular season games.
With the help of graduate running back Trey Sermon’s program-record 331 rushing yards, Ohio State downed Northwestern 22-10 to win its fourth consecutive Big Ten title.
Fields and the Buckeyes went on to face Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
After suffering an injury on a play that resulted in the ejection of Clemson graduate linebacker James Skalski, Fields tossed four of his six touchdowns to rout the Tigers 49-28. The junior quarterback tallied a career-high 385 passing yards to help win the Sugar Bowl Offensive MVP.
“He’s a warrior. I mean, that’s a guy you always want on your team,” senior wide receiver Chris Olave said Jan. 11. “He’s a leader on and off the field. And people look up to him. And the season he had this year, the growth he had from last year, it’s huge. And I’ve got all love and all respect for him. Can’t wait to see him do big things.”
The season and Fields’ collegiate career came to a close in Miami, where Fields suffered just his second loss as a Buckeye.
Fields finished his final season earning the Chicago Tribune Silver Football — an award given to the Big Ten’s best player. He also added a Graham-Brees Offensive Player of the Year award and a First-Team All-Big Ten selection.
The accomplished quarterback declared for the 2021 NFL draft Jan. 18 and is projected to be one of the first quarterbacks selected.
“My path to the Ohio State University was not a direct one, but I could not have asked for a better final destination. I knew this was a special place the moment I stepped on campus,” Fields said in a Twitter statement Jan. 18. “It has been the honor of my life to wear the Scarlet and Gray and represent the Ohio State University.”
