Bobby Carpenter is right, Justin Fields is the standard and if he isn’t, then the Buckeyes are just simply not on the same level as Alabama and Clemson. Those two programs have shown no qualms about moving on from stars to even bigger stars.
Let’s look at Alabama and its history. Jalen Hurts took the Crimson Tide to a 13-1 record and into the College Football Playoffs as a true sophomore (same year as Stroud who is a redshirt freshman) and was benched at halftime of the national championship for Tua Tagovailoa. Nick Saban benched the dude in the middle of the title game!
Before moving on to Clemson, I want to remind everyone that Mac Jones was drafted No. 15 overall in the 2021 draft and Tua Tagovailoa was drafted No. 5 overall in 2020.
That being said, Kelly Bryant started the 2017 season and guided the Tigers all the way to the College Football Playoff, where they lost to the eventual national champions in Alabama. Bryant led Clemson to a 12-2 record. In 2018 Bryant started the first four games, and despite Clemson sitting at 4-0 and the Tigers coming off a 49-21 victory over Georgia Tech, Bryant was benched for Trevor Lawrence.
Technically, Bryant was benched after two drives against Georgia Tech, but the point still remains. Bryant led this team to the playoffs and was undefeated the following year, but Clemson still decided to move on.
To recap Clemson’s draft history, Trevor Lawrence was just drafted first overall in 2021 and Deshaun Watson was drafted No. 12 overall in 2017.
Alabama has had more success than Ohio State in recent years and this is one of the reasons. Nick Saban moves on and knows when and how to explore his options. The fans talking about how comparisons to Justin Fields aren’t fair are not being realistic. If Justin Fields isn’t the standard, then Ohio State can’t be viewed on the same field as Alabama and Clemson.