Ohio State Football: No clear starter or motivation for Justin Fields?
With kickoff two weeks away, Ryan Day has yet to officially announce Justin Fields as the starter for Ohio State. Will that announcement come on Monday?
Head Coach Ryan Day has been tight-lipped about whether Justin Fields or Gunnar Hoak will be the starter for Ohio State in 2019. In interviews on Wednesday, Day announced that he will have a decision made next Monday.
The fact that this announcement has been stalled for so long brings up a few questions about the Ohio State QB situation.
For one, is there really no clear-cut starter or has Day simply been using this as motivation for Fields, to show that nothing is given, everything is earned. When Fields arrived at Ohio State and Tate Martell had left, Buckeye and college football fans alike assumed that he would instantly be crowned the starter.
However, when Kentucky transfer Gunnar Hoak came into the picture, that picture was slightly muddled. There’s no definitive way to know whether this “QB question” is real or simply to motivate Fields, unless Day simply announces as much.
Nonetheless, it does show that Hoak has come in and held his own, proving his worth to the Ohio State coaching staff and showing that he will be a more-than-able backup if he is not named the starter on Monday.
Some naysayers would say that the hesitancy to announce Fields as the starter shows that he has struggled to find a foothold, but after following the story for a while the more likely answer is that both Fields and Hoak are impressive QBs. And the competition, real or otherwise, is instrumental is growing both into even better players.
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Competition is an important catalyst for improvement. When a player is simply handed the job, they are more likely to be flippant.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney worked this idea to a “T” with Trevor Lawrence, who was one of the best QB recruits in the last decade in 2018, but was still forced to earn his way to the starting job. He was the back-up to Kelly Bryant for Clemson’s first three games last season.
Fellow Georgia-native Justin Fields will hope to have the same success as Lawrence if he is named the starter next Monday. If Hoak wins the job, then we might be in for a treat. After all, Fields is a former five-star recruit who would not be easy to beat for a starting job.
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Either way, Ohio State will have an exceptional offense in 2019, led by J.K. Dobbins and a stellar core of receivers. With either Fields or Hoak leading the way, the Buckeye offense will be in good hands to contend once again for a spot in the College Football Playoff.