After losing a touted 2019 quarterback to Georgia, more and more signs are pointing to Ohio State landing an even more highly-touted player at the same position who began his collegiate career at UGA.
Not long after the reports of Justin Fields potentially transferring from Georgia first surfaced, and before it was made official that his name is in the NCAA transfer portal, speculation had Ohio State as the frontrunner for the quarterback’s transfer services. The connection between Fields and OSU, which is expected to lose starter Dwayne Haskins to the NFL, only grew at the start of the Early Signing Period after Dwan Mathis decommitted from the Buckeyes and signed with the Bulldogs.
Two days later, the momentum for Fields landing in Columbus is only increasing.
Sources: Momentum for a Justin Fields-to-Ohio State transfer is increasing. Ryan Day’s impact cannot be overstated. Fields and those close to him are enamored by a potential pairing with Day.
— Kyle Rowland (@KyleRowland) December 21, 2018
Florida State and Oklahoma have also been rumored as potential landing spots.
Fields was rated by 247Sports.com as the No. 1 player regardless of position in the Class of 2018. He spent his true freshman season as the primary backup to sophomore starter Jake Fromm.
Despite officially notifying the NCAA of his intent to transfer, Fields is still practicing with the Bulldogs and will make the trip to New Orleans for UGA’s New Year’s Day date with Texas in the Sugar Bowl. Head coach Kirby Smart and his offensive coaching staff will spend the next several days attempting to convince Fields to remain in Athens, although most believe that will ultimately prove to be a fruitless endeavor.
Regardless of where Fields ultimately ends up should he decide to transfer, it’s expected he will seek a waiver that would give him immediate eligibility. It’s believed that Fields will use the racist comments directed at him earlier this season combined with the new NCAA transfer rules enacted in April — “immediate eligibility may be provided to a transfer student-athlete, provided… the transfer is due to mitigating circumstances that are outside the student-athlete’s control and directly impact the health, safety and well-being of the student-athlete” — to secure the ability to play in 2019.
In that vein, and if he ultimately decides to leave, Fields is expected to retain the services of Tom Mars, the Arkansas-based lawyer who has become the go-to attorney for players in waiver cases — including Michigan’s Shea Patterson earlier this year.
