Butterfly Effect: What if Justin Fields never transferred from Georgia to Ohio State?
By John Buhler
Justin Fields only played one season at Georgia. What would have happened had the Kennesaw native never transferred to Ohio State?
Even though he is a defensive-minded head coach, Kirby Smart‘s first four years leading the Georgia Bulldogs has been all about the great players he’s had in the quarterback room.
In 2016, Smart inherited essentially Mark Richt‘s top recruit in Jacob Eason of Lake Stevens, Washington. Billed as Georgia’s next Matthew Stafford, Eason played a ton as a true freshman in 2016 on a pretty mediocre team. Accuracy issues and limited mobility prevented him from fully tapping into his potential. A leg injury also cost him his starting job as a true sophomore in 2017.
During the season opener vs. Appalachian State, Eason exited the game due to injury and in came true freshman Jake Fromm. Eason recovered from his injury but was never able to take the starting job back from Fromm. As a true freshman, Fromm helped the Dawgs win the SEC, a Rose Bowl and play for a national title. Eason transferred to his native Washington in Spring 2018.
This opened up a spot in the quarterback room for Georgia, quickly filled by five-star, dual-threat playmaker Justin Fields from Kennesaw, just down the road in suburban Atlanta. Though more talented than Fromm, a lack of touch in the passing game in Jim Chaney’s offense kept him from taking the starting job from Fromm. Fields transferred to Ohio State after one year at Georgia.
While Fromm guided Georgia to a third straight SEC East division title, he regressed in his true junior season and the Dawgs failed to reach the College Football Playoff again. Fields, however, shined on his new team, leading Ohio State to another Big Ten Championship and another College Football Playoff berth. He’ll be a Heisman Trophy contender again in 2020.
Fromm went pro after his junior season and Georgia quickly entered the graduate transfer quarterback market upon Fromm’s decision to leave school a year early. Smart landed former Wake Forest Demon Deacons standout Jamie Newman, a guy former Georgia head coach Mark Richt said could be the best quarterback in the SEC in 2020. We’ll have to wait and see.
We know what happened, but what if Fields decided to stay at Georgia instead of transferring to Ohio State? How different would things be in college football had the Kennesaw native stayed put in Athens? Let’s find out now.