Justin Fields transfer to Ohio State looks imminent

Multiple credible media reports indicated this morning that Justin Fields is in Columbus, Ohio and should be enrolling at Ohio State next week.

The Buckeyes has been rumored as a landing spot for the former five star recruit since news of his impending transfer broke right before Signing Day. Those rumors intensified when Georgia signed former OSU quarterback commit Dwan Mathis in December.

We’ve already talked a good bit in this space about what Fields’ transfer would mean for the UGA depth chart going forward. To review, it likely means that Jake Fromm won’t be looking over his shoulder, or be removed and reinserted awkwardly throughout the game while we then dissect Fields’ every snap. That’s probably a good thing for the UGA offense.

Stetson Bennett is likely your second string QB, which is, you know, fine too. He’s a veteran player who knows the Chaney offense and will certainly be fine if asked to sub in. Is his ceiling as high as that of Justin Fields? One would be crazy to argue that with a straight face. But talk to UGA players who faced him in 2017 and they’ll tell you the Mailman can get the packages where they need to go.

Mathis may well redshirt, which would give him a chance to learn the offense and work on his fundamentals a bit. Ideally, Georgia will be able to bring in an elite quarterback as part of the class of 2020 with whom Mathis could compete for the starting job in 2021 while Jake Fromm is acclimating to the NFL. Ideally.

For now, it looks like we can move onto other offseason drama. One such plot point will be the decision of blue chip prospect Jadon Haselwood, a former Georgia receiver commit and Fields’ friend who was rumored to be considering following the young quarterback. Conflicting reports have emerged from the All-American Bowl, at which Haselwood will announce his decision tomorrow, that he has already sent in a letter of intent to his school of choice, or hasn’t. No one really knows. As I’ve said since his decommitment, I still think Oklahoma is the team to beat for the Cedar Grove standout, though the Buckeyes might also be in the mix.

Here’s wishing Justin Fields success at O-hi-o so long as he’s not playing the ‘Dawgs. Until later...

Go ‘Dawgs!!!