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Ryan Day doesn’t expect cancellation of spring practice to set Justin Fields back for 2020 season
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Justin Fields proved to be worth every bit of his five-star rating in his first season at Ohio State. As a first-year starter, the Buckeye gunslinger accounted for 51 touchdowns and earned a trip to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Fields, along with Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, is viewed as one of the favorites to win college football’s most prestigious individual award and the Buckeyes are expected to challenge for a spot in the College Football Playoff again this year. But do the unforeseen circumstances and cancellation of spring practice negatively affect Fields heading into 2020?
Head coach Ryan Day doesn’t really think so.
“I don’t think that that spring practice is going to set Justin too far back,” Day said, according to Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch. “I think where it’ll be felt more is with the other guys [Gunnar Hoak and C.J. Stroud].”
Day cited that Fields will [likely] still have fall camp to get repetitions in and return to speed. More importantly, though, Fields’ experience from last season should allow him to hit the ground running during the 2020 campaign.
In his first season as a starter in Columbus, Fields threw for 3,273 yards and 41 touchdowns with just three interceptions while completing over 67 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 484 yards and 10 additional touchdowns.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB