Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields is still hearing about flaws in his game, and now the G.O.A.T. of all NFL receivers is coming to his defense.
There aren’t too many former NFL football players that you’d want to have in your corner than Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. He came out of little-known Mississippi Valley State and proved everyone wrong. Many believed he didn’t have the speed and athletic ability to make it at the next level. Over 22,000 yards, 1,500 receptions, and almost 200 touchdowns later (all still tops in NFL history), and we now know many were severely mistaken.
Rice’s former team, the San Francisco 49ers, own the No. 3 overall pick, and it sounds like there’s a good chance the Ohio State quarterback will be there for the taking. Rice didn’t go as far as lobbying for Fields to have his name called by the Niners, but he did have some encouragement for the former Heisman finalist.
“Good morning G.O.A.T.S, what’s going on? Justin Fields, hey man, don’t worry about what they’re saying about you brother,” Rice said. “We know that you’re a hard worker and that you enjoy what you’re doing on the football field. You inspire your teammates to be better. Hey, they said the same thing about me. They said I couldn’t run a 40 (yard dash). Yeah, I might have run a 4.5, 4.6, I’m not even sure. But for one thing — they didn’t clock me on my way to the end zone– couldn’t nobody catch me. So hey, just let that stuff blow over your head man. Congratulations. I’m sure you’re looking forward to the draft, and hopefully, you go high. Hey, the G.O.A.T. is out.”
If you’d like to see Rice deliver the message himself, here’s the video he shared to his Instagram account.
Jerry Rice has a message for Justin Fields prior to his Pro Day. #49ers
🎥 @JerryRice | IG pic.twitter.com/FqVKSfxFhR
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) April 14, 2021
We hear you Jerry, and we couldn’t agree more.