Thoughts on Fields from OSU insider
This post was not VIP and I am not a member of 247. Since anyone can view it on the Bucknuts 247 site, I thought it would be ok to post here.
BuckeyeBacker99 1225 posts
Aug 19, 1:03 PM
I have had a long history in the past of providing inside info to the board, some bits were popular, some were not, but I’ve always delivered the goods. My initial takes on Justin Fields were not received particularly well by the board and some mods, nonetheless it has recently finally been echoed by Ryan in his last two pressers.
I’ll paraphrase my spring thoughts on Fields and then go into my post-fall camp thoughts.
-In the spring when he transferred here I (and many people close to, on the team and coaching with the team) were very concerned at the unrealistic and insane hype surrounding Fields. Yes, he is a top ten all time QB coming out of HS. But he is also VERY raw and inexperienced with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He came into the spring not knowing the offense. He was slightly outplayed by Baldwin, it was not that he was terrible, Baldwin was just way better than anyone realized, still the staff thought Fields would pull ahead at the end of fall camp due to his upside and getting comfortable with the offense. But during the spring, if we had to win now in the big house, Baldwin would have gotten the nod. I think Baldwin transferred because he was frustrated, he felt like he was outplaying Fields and still wasn’t getting enough 1st team reps. He felt like the writing was on the wall and that he (no matter how well he played) would not start because of how ridiculous Fields upside is, even if his production wasn’t matching Baldwin’s yet.
Baldwin’s decision: Both QB’s were told at the end of the spring that a decision had not been made and that they would both battle for the starting spot during fall camp. Baldwin at this point felt disrespected and undervalued by the media and fans as he was outplaying Fields and receiving little to no respect. He also felt like the coaches wanted Fields to take the reigns and be the guy MORE than they wanted the best man to win. He felt like even if he was named the starter he’d never be secure here. When he told the staff he was going to compliance to put his name in the portal it shocked the hell out of everyone and the staff was mortified. At this point Fields didn’t know the offense (don’t give a damn what was said or reported, he was a chicken running around with his head cut off) and Chug loved the frat parties more than football. The most game ready QB was off of the roster and everyone and I mean EVERYONE was freaked out. Then we got Hoak and that added security but a backup at Kentucky who didn’t have a single rep here heading into fall camp was never going to start here.
Fall camp: Fields was terrible in his first week. Awful. Lots of turnovers, not setting the proper protections and checking into the wrong plays based on the looks. There was a silent panick and it was very real. Going into week 2 Mike, Day and Dennis calmed him down, told him not every play has to be a touchdown, told him to forget about hype, accolades or media expectations and to JUST THINK ABOUT THE NEXT PLAY. He really became a student of the game and made mistakes but much less than week one. By week three he was a different player. He was calm, setting the right protections, making some more of the right reads and making plays. By the very end of camp he started to look like the starter we need.
Expectations: Guys, calm down. Remember that this kid has never taken a meaningful snap. Remember that he’s a wide eyed (basically) freshmen that has immeasurable pressure on him. He is not Dwayne yet. He is going to turn the ball over, make the wrong reads at times and have his head-scratching moments. He is also going to make someone miss and go 70 yards to the house at some point. He could very well throw a pick six on the next play. Bottom line, he will be what buckeye nation wants him to be someday, but right now he’s a work in progress.
Projected stats through 12 game reg season: 24 passing touchdowns, 2650 passing yards, 11 interceptions. Completing 61 percent of his passes. 9 rushing touchdowns, 780 rushing yards 6 fumbles, 4 fumbles lost.
August 20th, 2019 at 9:24 PM ^
Going to disagree with that strongly. Baldwin was atrocious. He threw two picks, terrible ones. In fact, on the second he threw into double coverage so terribly the defenders actually fought in the air over who would catch it.
Then there was this gem
And this.
Come on
Not as ugly as the others, but not pretty.
Good lord.
August 21st, 2019 at 4:31 AM ^
"That one's going to be a little too far."
August 20th, 2019 at 8:13 PM ^
Fully expect him to play like a Heisman candidate on the last Saturday in November, because that’s just what happens.
August 20th, 2019 at 9:02 PM ^
Well, well perhaps the boy wonder has feet of clay. Im sure he will become a formidable opponent. But even Haskins had two years learning the offense along with a quick read and faster arm to reach greatness.
I watched his films at Georgia, he has great arm strength and made good throws, mostly to wide open receivers. My thought was that they were against lesser pass defenses. It remains to be seen what he can do against Big defenses.
August 20th, 2019 at 11:43 PM ^
Don't expect him to ever have the accuracy of Haskins.
August 21st, 2019 at 4:32 AM ^
Yep. Haskins was amazing. There aren't many QB's who will end up matching him.
August 20th, 2019 at 10:34 PM ^
He'll be dropping dimes and ripping off 20 yard scrambles on the regular by time the game rolls around.
August 20th, 2019 at 10:34 PM ^
I wish we played them earlier in the season....
August 20th, 2019 at 11:41 PM ^
I don't know if anyone saw the Ohio St Spring Game, but his accuracy was bad. Though when he ran, it looked pretty good.
I still think Ohio St is going to lose at least 2 games, maybe as many as 4.
August 21st, 2019 at 12:23 PM ^
I agree, I can see up to 4, but I honestly think they drop 3 and Columbus goes ape shit.
August 21st, 2019 at 7:30 PM ^
They had very, very close games with Penn St and Maryland. They could have easily lost to both, especially Penn St. And they had an oddly close game with Nebraska. I'm not as impressed with Justin Fields as many are. Yes, he is a very good player. But he has so little experience that it could come up and bite Ohio St a few times this year.
August 21st, 2019 at 12:37 AM ^
logged in for the first time in ages to say although i have tempered expectations for this years team as well, BuckeyeBacker99 is not a fucking insider by any stretch of anyone's imagination lol. It would be like me starting a thread on 11W saying "Noted Michigan insider Maizen....."
August 21st, 2019 at 7:30 AM ^
The comments on the post by the Bucknut board seem to confirm his insider status.
August 21st, 2019 at 2:31 AM ^
This guy isn’t an OSU insider I can tell you that much , Laurinaitis was saying mostly positive things lol . Find a real insider who can prove they’ve seen him in camp pls
August 21st, 2019 at 2:56 AM ^
The Buckeye insiders my neighbor reads are telling a slightly different story. The first two weeks are roughly the same, the third week I guess he turned some heads and the staff is feeling really good about where he is going into the season. The biggest takeaway is that Fields spent fall camp without really being able to showcase what makes him such a threat, his legs. They weren't letting defensive players within 6 feet of him and blew a lot of stuff dead most of camp....until week 3 when they let him work a bit more and he was giving Chase Young fits. Apparently he throws on the run like he was built to do it that way and looked much better than when he would get happy feet in the pocket. I'd expect Day/Wilson to move the pocket a lot.
One insider who has been around a long time said Fields is well ahead of any second year QB OSU has ever had. That includes Miller and Pryor who started as true FR and were the cemented starters as SO's. They said he is light years ahead of JT Barrett was as a RSFR first time starter. They like him more as a SO than they liked Haskins as a RSFR, saying Haskins would have really struggled if he started in 2017. Fields accuracy and arm strength paired with his speed and talent as a runner is something OSU has never really had, if he puts it all together it will be scary. Pryor and Miller tore it up running but neither could hit the broad side of a barn. Haskins was an elite passer but he was a pocket passer, actually not ideal for Day/Wilson's offense. JT Barrett wasn't fast or a great passer but he was an exceptional read option QB so he got by on his brains.
They all say the same thing, he'll make some rookie mistakes but he will likely dazzle with some stuff that shows why he was neck and neck with Trevor Lawrence in the '18 class. He has a ton of skill talent around him and the OL is looking better than last year's.
The real news is that OSU absolutely got the better QB between Fields and Tate Martell. If OSU was stuck with Tate he would have been a disaster. Martell was described as a poor man's Trace McSorely. Day really made the right move, Martell was a prima donna and Day never really cared for him in the QB room.
The Baldwin bit the OP had is complete BS. I have it on very good authority from a Lake Travis football parent that he left OSU because he was struggling with the distance from home after spending his FR year mostly rehabbing his injury, has a girlfriend who graduated this spring and she was going to TCU. Losing him was a real blow to OSU and its the one thing people at OSU feel Day let get away from him. He'll be a good one for Gary Patterson but he was following his heart.
August 21st, 2019 at 10:18 AM ^
Come on you ninnies!
Braxton was a 5* ohio kid who was committed to OSU when he was about 8, and, since he was only on campus since January, he got thoroughly Denarded and lost.
JT or as I call him "shorty" was on campus almost two years before he played about as well as Devin G, while Elliott ran all up the D.
Haskins was on campus a year and a half before he threw 9 passes inside an offense he was working on two full seasons without creating tape!
Last year, Shea Patterson had been on campus only since January, and even as a 5* recruit who had double digit starts in the SEC, he struggled at first and ran out of time to progress to "elite" before November.
There's a pattern there.
O plus OSU lost 120 rec/20+ td rec, 950 y/r, 2 OL ...
Hey, at least the coaching staff didn't change;)
August 21st, 2019 at 12:18 PM ^
61% completion rate? Nah dog that ain't it.
August 21st, 2019 at 1:46 PM ^
I don’t bet but I would put money on OSU going 11-1 and beating Michigan.
August 21st, 2019 at 4:16 PM ^
After all of our 5* busts and under-performers isn't OSU due for one?
Nah! Who am I kidding?
This kid will be a God when they come into Ann Arbor.
I'm seriously beginning to believe we won't beat OSU again in my lifetime.