Ohio State Football: No clear-cut starter at quarterback
Justin Fields has been the overwhelming favorite to be the new starting QB at Ohio State with little competition to speak of. Can Gunnar Hoak challenge Fields?
From his transfer back in January, Justin Fields seemed the favorite to win the QB job at Ohio State after Dwayne Haskins entered the NFL Draft. However, Ryan Day has made it clear that may not be the case, as reported by Eleven Warriors.
According to Day, there is some level of “real competition” between Fields and Kentucky transfer Gunnar Hoak. Different reasons or causes could be the case, one being that Fields may be under-performing or Hoak over-performing. Or Day is hyping up competition to drive Fields and Hoak to their greatest potential.
The most interesting possibility is the one that suggests there really is a true competition between a former three-star recruit from Dublin and a former five-star recruit from Georgia.
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Hoak is a home-town boy who would likely fit the system Day and new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich (from Oklahoma State) are trying to implement.
Ryan Day’s style, and of course Yurcich’s at the other OSU, is more of an air raid offense which would suit Hoak much better than Fields.
For a recent comparison, Hoak would play similarly to Haskins or Cardale Jones. Fields would exhibit the skill set that J.T. Barrett used to lead the Buckeyes to a National Championship regular season in 2014 and an all-around incredible career at Ohio State.
The alternative situation is that Day is simply trying to encourage competition between two impressive quarterbacks, while Fields is still ahead of Hoak.
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Either way, Fields is still the front-runner for the job but Hoak is certainly creeping up. And if Day feels that Gunnar would fit the Ohio State offense better, he could turn to the Dublin kid on opening day against Florida Atlantic on August 31st.