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Urban Meyer names his Heisman Trophy frontrunner

Teddy Rydquist

By Teddy Rydquist

Published:

Urban Meyer spent seven seasons as the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes from 2012-18, posting an 83-9 (54-4 B1G) record, winning the 2014 College Football Playoff National Championship and three conference titles.

Appearing on the Big Ten Network on Tuesday, he expressed his support for another Buckeye, junior quarterback Justin Fields, as the favorite for the Heisman Trophy.

Although Meyer never coached Fields, he, along with current Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, played a pivotal role in bringing the talented signal-caller to Columbus.

Spending his freshman year in the Southeastern Conference with the Georgia Bulldogs backing up Jake Fromm, Fields completed 27-of-39 passes (69.2 percent) for 328 yards and four touchdowns.

Electing to seek more playing time elsewhere, he transferred to the Buckeyes in January 2019 and has lived up to the billing that made him a five-star prospect and the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the 2018 class, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.

Leading Ohio State to a 13-1 record and another CFP berth in 2019, Fields threw for 3,273 yards and 41 scores, compared to just three interceptions, while adding another 484 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.

Through three games this fall, the Kennesaw, Georgia native is completing a staggering nearly 87 percent of his pass attempts (72-of-83) for 908 yards and 11 scores.

Fields’ candidacy has been further bolstered by the fact Clemson Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence, a fellow junior, has missed his team’s last two games due to testing positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press Poll, Fields and the Buckeyes (3-0) will hit the road to battle the Maryland Terrapins (2-1) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on BTN.

Teddy Rydquist

A graduate of Bowling Green State University, Rydquist has been contributing to Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition since 2019. He can be found on Twitter @TeddyRydquist.