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Ryan Day offers brief update on Ohio State QB Justin Fields before title game
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Arguably the biggest talking point leading up to Monday night’s national championship game between No. 3 Ohio State and No. 1 Alabama is the health of Buckeyes quarterback Justin Fields. After taking a vicious hit to the ribs in the Sugar Bowl against Clemson, there’s some concern that the junior may not be at full strength.
Fields has continued to practice and will play in Monday night’s game. That shouldn’t be too surprising, as Fields missed just one play in the Sugar Bowl after the helmet of Clemson linebacker James Skalski crashed into the quarterback’s midsection on New Year’s Day.
On Sunday, head coach Ryan Day offered a brief update on his starting quarterback.
“Justin’s had a good week of practice,” Day told reporters Sunday. “He’s done a good job of preparing. He felt he did a good job going into the last game of preparing at a high level. He’s continuing to do that this week.”
Despite the injury, Fields was brilliant in Ohio State’s 49-28 victory over Clemson. He completed 22-of-28 passes for 385 yards and 6 touchdowns with just 1 interception. He also rushed for 42 yards on 8 carries.
Fields has lost just one career game as a starter for the Buckeyes, posting a mark of 20-1. The goal all offseason was for Ohio State to win a national championship, and a victory over Alabama would be one last feather in the cap for the future first-round selection.
Monday night’s game is set for 8 p.m. ET with coverage on ESPN. Both Ohio State and Alabama are undefeated.
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