Making the case for Justin Fields to win the Heisman Trophy

Tua Tagovailo and Trevor Lawrence are the Heisman favorites, but Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields can be the darkhorse pick like Kyler Murray last year.

Let’s rewind to Friday, Oct. 6 to be exact. Justin Fields had just committed to Georgia after a long recruiting process including him decommitting from Penn State. At the time, Fields was the No. 2 prospect in the class of 2018, just behind the No. 1 quarterback, Clemson commit, Trevor Lawrence who just led Clemson to the national title.

That’s the type of company (and expectations) Fields was in after putting up 4,187 passing yards, 41 passing touchdowns, 2,096 rushing yards and 28 rushing touchdowns in high school.

But when he arrived on the Georgia campus is when things got a little more complicated. Incumbent starter Jake Fromm had a stellar season the year prior as a freshman, leading the Bulldogs to the National Championship Game where they lost to Alabama in overtime.

Fields played sparingly behind Fromm who is considered a potential first round prospect in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft. At the end of the year, he sought a fresh start where he could play immediately, and he got that opportunity at Ohio State where Dwayne Haskins was entering the Draft after putting up record-breaking numbers for Ryan Day.

Held in the same regard as Lawrence and will now be coached by the person who turned Haskins into a Heisman finalist and first round pick in one year. Fields can have that type of immediate impact in Columbus and it’s why he can’t be overlooked in the Heisman conversation.

Lawrence and Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa are the favorites, but Fields can be the same type of darkhorse candidate that last year’s winner, Kyler Murray, was at this point last year.

College football fans have always been drawn to the young stars that light up the country the moment they step on a football field. Johnny Manziel, Jameis Winston, Lamar Jackson and Tim Tebow are all examples of this. What all of these players have in common, though is that they weren’t able to recreate that magic the season after. A new and shiny player always came along and stole the Heisman from them. Who is to say that Fields can’t do the same? He is new and he will definitely shine on the football field this season.

While Tagovailoa and Lawrence didn’t win the Heisman, they were new and exciting. But this year they aren’t, and they will be nit-picked all season. We know how good they are and we expect it from them. We don’t have those expectations for Fields though, and if he plays to his potential we could see him overshadow the current Heisman trophy favorites.

What holds Fields back is his inexperience, but he’s no more inexperienced than Murray or other stars who take advantage of their first shot at stardom. If you are playing for Ohio State, you are going to have a lot of those situations. We don’t know how Fields will handle these situations, but what should give Buckeye fans excited about this is the season Lawrence had last year.

Lawrence took over for a formidable quarterback in Kelly Bryant and while Lawrence didn’t have a Heisman season as a freshman, he had a season that led the Clemson Tigers to a National Championship when he threw for 347 yards on 20-of-32 passing and three passing touchdowns.

So in order for Fields to really be in the race for the Heisman, he has to get off to a great start and the schedule plays into his favor. No Power 5 teams are in sight for the Buckeyes with Florida Atlantic, Cincinnati and Miami (OH) all traveling to Columbus.

To add to that the Buckeyes will travel to Indiana and Nebraska to start Big Ten play. The first real test for Fields will come against Michigan State on Oct. 6. By then, Fields should be accommodated to the speed of college football. Not to mention that sitting behind Jake Fromm for a year should speed up the process.

Fields will be fantastic in a Buckeye uniform and after everything that he has been through, he will be right in the thick of Heisman trophy conversations.