Sports roundup: Fields eligible for Buckeyes, Buckeyes invited to NFL combine
Justin Fields, the highly rated quarterback from Georgia, is eligible to play for the Buckeyes for the 2019 season.
The Ohio State University football team received some good news on Friday when the NCAA ruled Fields would not need to sit out a year after transferring from the University of Georgia earlier this year.
“I am happy for Justin and his family,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said. “I also want to express my appreciation to the NCAA for its assistance in getting this matter resolved efficiently and with such a positive outcome for Justin.”
Fields joined the football program in January 2019 after playing in 12 of 14 games as a true freshman for Georgia in 2018. At Georgia, he was named to the Coaches Freshman All-SEC Team after completing 27 of 39 passes for 328 yards and four touchdowns. Fields also had four rushing touchdowns.
He will join Buckeye quarterbacks Matthew Baldwin and Chris Chugunov as Ohio State looks to replace record-setting quarterback Dwayne Haskins. Haskins declared for the NFL draft after leading the Buckeyes to a Big Ten Championship and a victory in the Rose Bowl.
NFL Tryouts
Haskins will be one of 10 Buckeyes at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine next month in Indianapolis.
The annual event will feature more than 300 NFL prospects as they try to show scouts, coaches and general managers that they have the speed, skills and strength to play in the NFL.
Haskins joins fellow Buckeyes defensive end Nick Bosa, wide receivers Parris Campbell, Johnnie Dixon and Terry McLaurin, defensive tackle Dre’mont Jones, offensive linemen Michael Jordan and Isaiah Prince, cornerback Kendall Sheffield and running back Mike Weber. Ohio State will have the third-most players attending the combine, just one behind the 11 that Alabama and Clemson will send.
Ohio State’s 2019 contingent increases the number of Buckeyes who have been invited to the combine to 60 over the last seven seasons, including a nation’s best of 43 (tied with Alabama) players in the last four seasons.
Smith steps down from playoff committee
Ohio State Senior Vice President and Director of Athletics Gene Smith announced Friday that he is stepping down from the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. Smith served on the committee the previous two years.
The CFP Selection Committee is responsible for selecting the top four teams and assigning them to semifinal games as well as ranking the remaining top 25 teams. The selection committee meets in-person beginning late in the football season and produces a ranking of the top 25 teams each week, leading up to its final selections.
“Serving on this committee has been an honor,” Smith said. “Contributing to this great sport is always a privilege, and I will miss the time with my colleagues. It is imperative for me to have 100 percent focus in helping our new coach [Ryan Day] with his transition at The Ohio State University this fall.”
Gary Barta, University of Iowa Henry B. & Patricia B. Director of Athletics Chair, will replace Smith on the committee.
