Ohio State junior quarterback Justin Fields (1) points down the field during the Ohio State vs. Alabama National Championship Game Jan. 11. Ohio State lost 52-24. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
In a career defined by winning and scoring touchdowns in bunches, Justin Fields was unable to continue the trend on the biggest stage Monday.
However, it was the junior quarterback’s grit and determination that stuck out to head coach Ryan Day, who has coached the potential top-five pick in the NFL draft to 63 passing touchdowns and 20 wins in his two seasons at Ohio State.
“Justin has been unbelievable,” Day said Monday. “He’s as competitively tough a player as I’ve been around. For him to go out there and play today really shows his toughness and how much he loves his brothers; he still took some shots on that hip.”
Day said Fields was “not 100 percent tonight” after getting speared with a helmet in his lower back and hip area in the second quarter of the Sugar Bowl Jan. 1.
Despite dealing with pain against Clemson, Fields grimaced through the remainder of the game and finished with 6 touchdowns and 385 passing yards.
His lone touchdown and 194 passing yards against was not the desired encore performance Ohio State needed to win, but Fields stressed that his injury and limitations in practice following the semifinal did not prevent him from playing well.
“At the end of the day I’m glad I was able to play, and we didn’t get the job done,” Fields said Monday. “But of course I could have been healthier, but I was healthy enough. I was able to be out there.”
Expressing confidence in the game plan going into Monday night, Fields said that Alabama’s execution was the difference in the game.
Fields’ journey with Ohio State to Monday night officially began Jan. 4, 2019 when he announced his transfer from Georgia to Ohio State.
Day said the relationship between him and Fields was built on a foundation of honesty and that the bond only grew stronger following the loss to Clemson in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl.
With two years to get to know each other, Day is impressed by Fields on and off the gridiron.
“It’s one thing to care about somebody, and it’s another thing to be able to help them, and I think that he knows that I’m here to help him and I can find ways to help him here and there,” Day said Jan. 7. “I think that there’s a trust there, and there’s obviously an unbelievable respect for what I have for him as a competitor and as a person.”
Reflecting back on his time at Ohio State, Fields pointed to the friendships he made as one of the most meaningful byproducts of his time in Columbus.
Fields talked to several players following the 52-24 defeat, and his message to the younger Buckeyes was one that leaned on motivation.
“I was just telling the young guys that they have a lot more years left, and I was just telling them to remember what this feels like, never let it happen to them again,” Field said. “They have time left, so I encouraged them to get back to work as quickly as possible and just remember this feeling of walking off the field with a loss. I just told them to remember the feeling.”
Fields is projected to be one of the top picks in the 2021 NFL draft but has yet to officially declare his intention to forgo another season at Ohio State.
However, Fields said that he was “definitely going to miss everybody” and Day expressed a similar sadness at the prospect of the Georgia native’s departure.
Although his decision to move onto the NFL may seem like a forgone conclusion, Fields did not shy away from how he would use the loss as motivation moving forward.
“It’s going to motivate me a lot. We didn’t get the turnout that we wanted to, didn’t get the result that we wanted. But that’s just going to make us work harder,” Fields said. “This team deals with adversity very well. We’ve been through a lot of adversity this past year. We’re just going to use it to get back and just work our butts off.”
Fields has until Jan. 18 to declare for the NFL draft.
