Ohio State Football: Fields could be the best Buckeye QB ever

Justin Fields has been spectacular to start his Ohio State career but when it is all said and done could he be the best Buckeye quarterback of all-time?

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields has used his arm and his legs to beat teams this year, guiding the Buckeyes to a 7-0 record so far this season.

I know it’s still early in his career but where does he stack up all-time on the Ohio State quarterback list?

I think he could eventually be considered the best.

Personally, before Fields came to Columbus I considered Terrelle Pryor, Troy Smith and even Dwayne Haskins the top three quarterbacks in program history. So let’s compare Justin Fields to those three, shall we?

Smith was a Heisman Trophy winner and led Ohio State to a BCS National Championship Game in 2006. In his final season as a Buckeye he had 2,542 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and six interceptions, and he ran for 204 yards and one touchdown, despite running for 611 yards and 11 touchdowns during his junior year.

Once in the NFL, Smith didn’t get much of a shot to start in the league, so we will never really know what his full potential could have been.

Looking at Pryor, he was an explosive athlete. During his junior season, his final year at OSU, he threw for 2,772 yards, 27 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while running for 754 yards and four touchdowns.

Pryor was a fun athlete to watch with the Buckeyes but once he got to the NFL he only had one season where he got significant playing time at QB and he threw for seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He then had one good year as receiver for the Cleveland Browns in 2016 but kind of fizzled off after that.

Haskins just had a stellar season in 2018 for the Buckeyes as he threw for 4,831 yards, 50 touchdowns and eight interceptions but he was not much of a runner as he only had 108 rushing yards.

I’m not going to judge his NFL career quite yet though because he’s only a rookie.

Now, looking at Fields, he’s certainly a better runner than Haskins as he has 291 rushing yards on the season. I also think he’s a better runner than Smith, despite the rushing numbers Smith put up his junior season. I won’t say he’s a better runner than Pryor though because that guy was nuts.

Passing-wise, Fields is only eight passing touchdowns off of Smith’s 30 touchdowns during his Heisman-winning season and just needs a few decent passing games to surpass his yardage numbers. He is also a much more accurate passer than Pryor. Fields has one interception while Pryor had 11 in his final year at OSU.

Comparing his passing to Haskins though, I’d probably give Haskins the nod.

So, what does that make my conclusion?

I think when looking at the four guys’ Ohio State careers he’s the best all-around Buckeye quarterback of all-time with his ability to throw and run. I like to consider NFL success too though, and as of right now I think it’s between Fields and Haskins because they still have time to become stellar NFL quarterbacks.