Justin Fields had one of the best seasons by a QB in Big Ten history last year and finished third in the Heisman voting. Could Fields win it this year? Here are two props available to wager at Mybookie on Fields’ Heisman Trophy chances and Ohio State’s 2020 college football season – assuming there is one – and an overview.
Justin Fields Heisman Trophy Odds & Analysis For 2020 Season
- Heisman Trophy odds: Fields is +210 second-favorite
- Odds to win national title: Ohio State is +350 second-favorite
Fields played at Harrison High School in Kennesaw, Georgia. In two years as a starter, totaled 4,187 passing yards, 41 passing touchdowns, 2,096 rushing yards and 28 rushing touchdowns. Before his 2017 senior year, Fields attended the Elite 11 quarterback competition and was named MVP of the event.
Fields was rated as a five-star recruit and was the highest rated dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2018 but the No. 2 overall recruit behind another Georgia quarterback: Trevor Lawrence. He nearly committed to the University of Georgia but picked Clemson and is the Heisman favorite this year.
Fields originally committed to Penn State out of high school before ultimately decommitting because he thought that then-Lions offensive coordinator Joe Morehead would leave (he did). Fields then committed to Georgia over LSU. One of his sisters also committed to play softball at Georgia.
Fields played in 12 of 14 games as a true freshman for Georgia in 2018 and was named to the coaches’ freshman All-SEC Team. He completed 27 of 39 passes for 328 yards and four TDs and also had four rushing touchdowns.
However, with Fields stuck behind Jake Fromm on the depth chart he decided to leave for Ohio State. Fromm took the Bulldogs to the College Football Playoff national title game as a freshman and the SEC title game as a sophomore.
Normally, Fields would have sat out 2019. However, during his freshman year at Georgia, Fields was the subject of a racist comment from UBA baseball player Adam Sasser. The comment was made during Georgia’s win over Tennessee on Sept. 29, which gave the freshman QB and his attorney, grounds to file for a waiver that Fields should be able to transfer without an eligibility penalty.
The baseball player was dismissed from the team, but Fields said he would have felt uncomfortable playing baseball at Georgia because of the incident. The NCAA would grant the waiver.
With Dwayne Haskins off to the NFL after his record-breaking 2018 season at Ohio State, Fields stepped right in and filled those big shoes. He had one of the greatest seasons in the history of Ohio State when he completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 3,273 yards while accounting for 51 touchdowns (41 passing, 10 rushing).
Fields became the first quarterback in Big Ten history with 40 passing TDs and 10 rushing TDs in the same season and his 41-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio was the best in the country. Fields’ passer efficiency rating of 181.43 was third best nationally.
Fields became just the third Ohio State quarterback in the last 50 years – Rex Kern and Craig Krenzel are the others – to win each of his first 13 games as the Buckeyes’ starting QB. In six games against teams ranked in the final College Football Playoff poll, accounted for 17 touchdowns and averaged 280 yards per game of total offense.
Alas, his Buckeyes lost to Lawrence’s Clemson team in the CFP semifinals. Fields completed 30-of-46 passes for 320 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in the loss. Fields also ran for 13 yards with a long of 21. He was dealing with somewhat of a knee injury suffered in the regular-season finale.
Fields would win Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and Quarterback of the Year Awards, was first-team All-Big Ten, second-team All-American and third in the Heisman voting. The 6-foot-3, 233-pounder posted a 1.66 WAA (wins above average) for the Buckeyes, and that was second only to Heisman winner Joe Burrow last year.
Fields should be a very high NFL draft pick in 2021, with ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. ranking Fields as his No. 3 overall prospect in the prospective 2021 class. Ohio State opens at home on Sept. 5 vs. Bowling Green and will be a mammoth favorite.
