Butterfly Effect: What if Joe Burrow never transferred from Ohio State to LSU?

What happens to Justin Fields?

Fields led Ohio State to the Big Ten Championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff after being a Heisman finalist in his first year at Ohio State. He’s going to do it again in 2020 and could take home the Trophy, adding to the list of Buckeye greats to win the Heisman.

The decision by Burrow to stay at Ohio State has no bearing on Fields and his decision to transfer out of Georgia. They are two separate decisions. It’s not like Fields transferred to Ohio State because Burrow transferred to LSU. Fields transferred out of Georgia because that’s was best for him and his future.

But assuming Burrow’s presence at Ohio State takes an option away from Fields as he considers his options.

Could Fields have finally ended up at Penn State where he originally committed before settling on the hometown Bulldogs?

Fields would have put up the same dual-threat numbers he did at Ohio State and would make the Nittany Lions a legit threat to take the Big Ten and earn a playoff berth.

Could Fields have just gone to LSU where Burrow wasn’t?

Transferring within the SEC could have presented more of a challenge for Fields to gain immediate eligibility like he did at Ohio State. Assuming LSU and Fields had mutual interest if he had to sit out the 2019 season and he didn’t get the waiver to play right away, that may be a non-starter.

For Fields, all roads may lead him to Penn State. That basically flips all the good things we’re saying about 2020 Ohio State and applying them to 2020 Penn State. That would be a godsend for Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin and it would have Day in search of his program-defining quarterback.

Considering how well he’s recruiting, he’d have little issue finding that guy, but it would mean Ohio State has to be patient, something they often haven’t been asked to do at all.