Being Ohio State QB Leaves Fields No Time to be Normal Student
Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields is getting ready for a Saturday night, nationally-televised, prime-time game against Nebraska, and so you may be wondering how he fits that preparation into all the other things a normal college student does.
The answer is, he doesn't, because Justin Fields, like pretty much every player at most, if not all, Power 5 schools is not really a typical college student.
That's not a knock on Fields at all.
Far from it.
It's actually a tribute to time-management skills that allow Fields to tend to the responsibilities of the typical student, while doing so in unconventional ways.
Because if you have a picture in your mind of Fields, Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tungvailoa or any other college football star hanging out at the student union, strolling across the Quad, commiserating with fellow students at Starbucks or any of that stuff you did back in your college heydays, well, it's a quaint notion that's as old as that 8-track tape player in your Chevy Vega.
“I don’t really have any on-campus classes, like in-classes," said Fields, who has passed for 13 touchdowns and rushed for six in OSU's 4-0 start. "Most of my classes are online just because of time and I can probably spend more time on football and just studying a lot like that. So, I haven’t really been around on campus that much, but what I have seen is just the campus is beautiful and the people around here are great.”
No time for socializing amid commitment to football
Fields opened a window into his unique world when asked for how he likes Columbus, now that he's been in the city for nine months since transferring from Georgia in January.
“I haven’t really been around much,' Fields said. "I usually just go back and watch Netflix or something like that. Columbus is a great city from what I’ve seen and there’s a lot to do here and that’s really all I can say about it.”
You can complain about that all you want, but that's the reality at multi-million-dollar football programs where Fields and every other scholarship player arrive on campus with developing themselves for the NFL as Job 1.
OSU senior receiver Austin Mack had a touchdown called back by penalty on Saturday in a 76-5 win over Miami of Ohio.
The Buckeyes hardly needed that TD to win the game, and Mack is not a selfish player.
Impressing NFL scouts always on players' minds
But the way he spoke of it showed clear regret because every TD on tape raises his chance of getting taken in the NFL draft.
"It's hard not to get frustrated," said Mack, who has seven catches in four games, rotating amid the extremely deep OSU receiving corp. "Especially with me being a last-year guy."
Mack came back for his senior year, hoping that pays off in April, or next NFL season, the way it is for Washington rookie and OSU alum Terry McLaurin.
McLaurin set an NFL record on Monday by becoming the first rookie with at least five catches, including one for a TD, in each of his first three games.
Mack cited that as encouragement for him, noting that McLaurin "had only 35 catches last year."
Fields transferred to OSU because he assumed himself buried behind Jake Fromm on the Georgia depth chart.
He gained immediate eligibility from the NCAA and is one of host of transfer QBs starting around the country in the frenzied search for immediate playing time to get scouts to notice so dreams can be fulfilled.
If the typical college experience must be sacrificed on that altar, Fields and every other Power 5 player will willingly make the trade.
Fans often have no idea what players must do to be elite
"I think some people have their idea of what we do, like I’ve talked to some people and they think we’re just working out all day and just kind of looking at film all day and just doing football all day, like we’re just football players," Fields said. "Then some people (think) we’re regular students. So, it’s kind of a (mixed bag) but just kind of balancing those things out. So, yeah, I’m not sure what people think, but people just have different opinions on what we do and kind of how our everyday life goes.”
Does he ever wish he could be more of a regular student?
"I’m fine with the way my life is now," Fields said. "I wish nothing differently happened in my life. So, it’s just about trying to embrace all the things I’m doing right now. I don’t think you can really hope to be somebody else or hope to have a different lifestyle than you have. You can only have what you have right now and just make the best out of it. So, I definitely am enjoying my life right now and just hope to make the best out of it.”
