Preparation might be as important, if not more so, than any aspect of the game for a quarterback. As an unexpected benefit from the Big Ten season’s delay, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields has been given significantly more time than usual to prepare for his second year as a starter.

But where to start after what seemed to be a near good-as-it-gets season in 2019, a year in which Fields registered the highest passer efficiency rating from a Buckeye quarterback since at least 1956? Where could a quarterback who put up 51 touchdowns to just three interceptions make wholesale improvements?

Well, everywhere, if you ask Fields.

“There were a lot of things I had to get better at in this past offseason. I had pretty much everywhere to improve, all aspects of the game, so that’s what I did,” Fields said Tuesday. “I tried to learn as much as possible from Coach Day and tried to just critique my game and work on my craft.”

More specifically though, Fields said he has placed an emphasis on truly understanding the offense this season, rather than simply running it.

Fields said his relationship with Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has strengthened considerably heading into this season, and much of that likely has to do with the extra one-on-one time the pair have put it in in the offseason.

Once the Buckeyes returned for voluntary workouts in the summer, Day and Fields met five days a week, Monday through Friday, to work on offensive concepts and look at defensive schemes as well as filming Fields’ throwing motion and critiquing it afterward.

“It helped me just pick his brain and see what he wants, seeing what he thinks is more efficient, because I’m always open to learning new things,” Fields said.

If he was just grasping the offense a season ago, Fields is taking a step up in his quarterback education this year. Fields said he’s trying to think more like Day and become a coach on the field.

Day said Fields’ enhanced curiosity entering his second year as a starter in the program is not uncommon in previous quarterback progressions that he has overseen.

“The first year it’s like, ‘What am I doing?’ The second year it’s usually, ‘Why am I doing it?’” Day said. “That’s kind of where he’s at right now. I think he’s trying to figure out why we’re doing things, and we’re getting to the point now where, when he hears a call, he knows what I’m thinking.”

First-year quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis said Fields’ competitive edge has fueled him to stay on top of his own preparation from meeting to meeting, but said that his starting quarterback’s mentality is no 180-degree turn from last year.

“I wouldn’t say he’s made a jump intellectually –– he’s always been a smart guy, that’s never not been the case,” Dennis said. “He’s always understood the offense, he’s always been able to handle everything.”

Rather, Dennis said the delayed season and extra time for preparation has simply allowed Fields the chance to ask more questions and learn that much more ahead of Ohio State’s Oct. 24 season opener.

“He truly doesn’t want to leave a stone unturned,” Dennis said.