Justin Fields could be one-and-done at Ohio State if season delayed until spring

What if Justin Fields played his final college football season this spring?

Justin Fields will be a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The Ohio State Buckeyes starting quarterback was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy during his first year with his new team. Fields famously backed up Jake Fromm for a year on his home state’s Georgia Bulldogs before transferring to the Buckeyes. In his first year in Columbus, he dazzled the college football world. In one year, he showed why he’s regarded as a top pick in next year’s draft.

The only player who will go ahead of him is the guy he’ll always be compared to in Clemson Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence. It is truly amazing they grew up less than an hour apart outside of Atlanta. One will quarterback the Jacksonville Jaguars, the other the Carolina Panthers. Their football careers will forever be intertwined.

However, there is one interesting wrinkle to keep an eye on regarding the upcoming college football season. If it were to be delayed until the spring, we know Lawrence has no incentive to play in it and he shouldn’t. One would think Fields would punt on the idea of playing in the spring, but are we absolutely certain he would. We really need to think about the situation at hand here.

Justin Fields shouldn’t rule out spring college football just yet.

There are two reasons Fields should at least entertain playing in the spring before completely crossing it off entirely: He only has one year’s worth of college starts under his belt and his No. 2 overall pick in 2021 is not a guarantee at this point. It’s close, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. His stock may drop by playing, but he’s not a lock for No. 2 right now.

While Fields backed up Fromm for a season at Georgia, Lawrence took over for Kelly Bryan mid-season in 2018 and led Clemson to its third national title in school history. That experience was so immensely valuable for Lawrence. Though he may not get to 30 career starts in college if the season is delayed until the spring, NFL scouts have seen enough out of him to ensue he’s No. 1.

But with Fields, there is a lot of variance there. If he was so good at Georgia, why didn’t he beat out Fromm as a true freshman in 2018 in the first place? He may have eventually done it in 2019 had he stayed, but again, no guarantees it would have happened. Just like if he doesn’t play in the spring and opts to forego his senior season. That’s a lot hinging on only 14 college starts.

Keep in mind his predecessor Dwayne Haskins was the first Big Ten quarterback taken in the first round of an NFL Draft since Kerry Collins went No. 5 overall to the Panthers in 1995. Haskins only had one year’s worth of stats at Ohio State. While he was too was a Heisman finalist, he went No. 15 to the Washington Redskins and had a chaotic at-best rookie season in the nation’s capital.

What are the chances Fields gets jumped for the No. 2 spot? Everybody knew Tua Tagovailoa was going No. 1 to the Miami Dolphins until he went No. 5 to the Dolphins. Fields is the No. 2 quarterback prospect, but there are other interesting prospects at the position who could go in the first round like Jamie Newman of Georgia and Trey Lance of North Dakota State at the FCS level.

There’s also a handful of non-quarterbacks worthy of going in the top-five including LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons, Oregon tackle Penei Sewell and Miami defensive end Gregory Rousseau. All four of these guys are blue-chippers as well. They may all sit out the spring, but one may play to improve his stock to ensure a top-two or three selection.

Fields may not play spring ball, but he doesn’t have Lawrence’s luxury to write it off immediately.

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