SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - In a somewhat shocking display of transparency, Justin Fields said on Christmas Eve that his knee was feeling "80-85 percent" after nearly three full weeks of rest after the Big Ten Championship Game.

It's unknown whether Fields' admission was an act of gamesmanship, brutal honesty or a slip up that led to him revealing that information, but the fact of the matter was that it was out there.

On Thursday, Fields was once again up to the podium for Fiesta Bowl Media Day, and his tone changed on discussing his injury.

"I feel good but I was advised not to really talk about my injury, so I won't be talking about that today," Fields said.

After being open on Tuesday with his injury status, it was made clear that Fields wouldn't discuss it further, so things shifted towards his upcoming opponent in the Fiesta Bowl.

Not only will this be Fields' first appearance in a bowl game since he didn't participate in Georgia's loss to Texas last season, it will come against the best team the Buckeyes have faced this year by an enormously large margin.

When asked his thoughts about Clemson's defense, it may have been easier for Fields to say what didn't stand out about Brent Venables' defense.

"They have a lot of great athletes on the outside. They have a great front seven," Fields said. "Of course, everybody knows that they have a great defensive coordinator so, I mean, they're all around a good defense."

Clemson's defense is filled with all-stars like linebackers James Skalski and Chad Smith, but linebacker Isaiah Simmons is an entirely different monster.

Simmons leads the team in tackles, tackles for loss and sacks, and he also had two interceptions, six pass breakups and two forced fumbles.

Fields has gone up against good linebackers this season like Wisconsin's Zack Baun, but few linebackers in the country can match up with the athleticism of a former safety now playing at linebacker like Simmons, and the way that Venables has used Simmons has impressed Fields.

"Really just the way they use Isaiah Simmons. He's a great all-around player," Fields said. "The way they're trying to use him at safety sometimes, linebacker sometimes, he can play a multitude of positions."

Even though Clemson's offense had struggles early in the season, the defense never had issues keeping teams off the scoreboard. Their season-high for points allowed was 20 against North Carolina, but they made up for it by stuffing the would-be game-winning two-point conversion by the Tar Heels to escape.

Since that game, the Tigers have held opponents to just 9.8 points per game. Including every game this year, Clemson still leads the nation in scoring defense at 10.6 points per game and lead in total offense allowed and passing yards allowed per game.

With multiple ways and multiple players that Clemson can use to hurt opposing offenses, Fields says that Clemson will do the most out of any defense the Buckeyes will face this season when they kick off against the Tigers in the Fiesta Bowl this Saturday.

"I think they do a lot of things on defense that tries to disrupt offenses. Really, they can do a multitude of things," Fields said. "I think Clemson runs the most defenses we'll see from one defense this year so it'll definitely be fun to go up against."