Justin Fields declares for 2021 NFL draft

After a short two-years in Columbus, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields officially declared for the 2021 NFL draft Monday morning.

It’s official. Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields has officially declared for the 2021 NFL draft after a career that won’t soon be forgotten.

Though Fields only played one full year and an abbreviated COVID-19 one, he will be remembered as one of the best ever to play the quarterback position at Ohio State. And the path that he too was an unconventional one.

Fields never had the Buckeyes in his sights when he came out of Kennesaw, Georgia as a five-star prospect, eventually committing to the Georgia Bulldogs. After his freshman year however, Fields fell behind a more experienced Jake Fromm and transferred to Ohio State and the tutelage of Ryan Day.

The rest is history.

Fields quickly garnered the starting job on the banks of the Olentangy, became the Big Ten Quarterback of the Year twice, went to the Heisman ceremony as a finalist in 2019, and led the Buckeyes to two-straight College Football Playoff appearances.

His junior season did not end the way he wanted, but he led the charge for the Big Ten to reinstate the fall college football season and was a leader on and off the field.

Now, he’ll be taking his talents to the NFL.

Fields thanked former teammates, coaches, and fans in his heartfelt goodbye shared on Twitter Monday morning.

Now the watch is on to see where Fields goes in the draft. Jacksonville and Urban Meyer have the first pick, but Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence is widely considered a lock to be taken first. From there, we have some thoughts, but it’s anyone’s guess based on an inconsistent junior year.

We’ll have more on Fields and what this means for Ohio State in the coming days.

Ohio State football player 2021 NFL draft declaration tracker

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