Ohio State football: Ryan Day gives totally non-biased take on Justin Fields’ NFL future
By Scott Rogust
Ohio State football coach Ryan Day believes quarterback Justin Fields has what it takes to succeed in the NFL.
The NFL Draft stock of Justin Fields is apparently all over the map, but his coach at Ohio State, Ryan Day, is a believer he has what it takes to be a franchise quarterback at the next level.
A few days after Hall of Fame talent evaluator Gil Brandt shared he’s heard Fields could go anywhere from the top-10 to the fourth round, Day said he believes Fields is the prototypical NFL quarterback who will be a franchise quarterback for the team that drafts him.
Ohio State football coach Ryan Day believes Justin Fields checks all the boxes
“Whatever they teach in terms of a scheme, he’s going to pick that up very, very quickly,” said Day, via ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg. “And he’s very, very competitive. So when you combine the talent, the size, the arm strength, his competitiveness, his toughness, his intelligence, it kind of checks all the boxes. If you were trying to design a quarterback, to me, Justin fits that prototype.”
Fields joined Ohio State after transferring from Georgia, where the team was still committed to Jake Fromm starting. The dual-threat quarterback shined in his first season at Columbus in 2019, where he led the team to the CFP Semifinal Game, where they lost to Clemson. This past season, despite the small sample size, Fields put on a showing in the Sugar Bowl to gain revenge on Clemson to ultimately reach the CFP National Championship Game.
In his two seasons with Ohio State, Fields completed 68.4-percent of their passes for 5,373 yards, 63 touchdowns and nine interceptions, while also rushing for 867 yards and 15 scores on 218 carries.
Fields is not gaining the attention that Jones or Trey Lance has been receiving in the past couple of days, but there is still a possibility that he can be taken by the 49ers. If not then, there are other quarterback-needy teams like the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers selecting in the top 10 and there is the possibility a team like the New England Patriots, Washington Football Team or Chicago Bears trading up to draft him.
Wherever he ends up, Day believes he can be their answer under center for the foreseeable future.
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