COLUMBUS, Ohio – With Ohio State facing its first road test of the season at Indiana, Justin Fields will look to play smart and improve upon the progress he has made so far this season.
Through the first two games of the season, Fields has impressed with 458 passing yards and six passing touchdowns without an interception. He has been equally impressive on the ground with 103 yards and three touchdowns.
The production has not surprised Fields, who has worked hard to get to where he is now.
“I think I’ve done a great job preparing, so that’s definitely paying off,” Fields said.
Ryan Day has noticed the production of Fields in the first two games, and he has given a good amount of the credit to Mike Yurcich.
“He's played well the first two games. We'll keep building that as we go,” Day said. “I think Mike has done an excellent job. Mike has done a really good job of putting the game plan together in terms of making it clean, clear and concise so that Justin can play the way he is on Saturdays.”
Day is not settling for the performance that Fields has put out in the first two games, however. In order to instill a drive to improve, Day has focused on the little things in order to help Fields take the next step at quarterback.
Day has pointed out room for improvement in implementing the proper protections. He has also been susceptible to taking a few big hits each game, and Day would like to eliminate those shots.
“Still took a couple hits in there that we didn't like,” Day said on the game against Cincinnati. “Got to learn that way.”
Fields, after the first game, admitted that he felt very sore after taking a few big hits. Now that he eliminated a few of those big hits against Cincinnati and is beginning to get in the flow of the season, his soreness following the game has decreased.
As he gets more games under his belt, the experience will continue to grow for Fields. The goal of the coaching staff has been to bring his knowledge of the game up to the level of his talent.
Day, who emphasizes playing smart, is still balancing letting Fields maximize his special playmaking abilities and living to fight another day.
“Again, can you really control all of it? No, you can't,” Day said. “You got to kind of let it go. Give him certain parameters, then trust him.”
The idea of trust has been a common theme between the players and the coaching staff.
As they head to Bloomington, Indiana to open up conference play, that trust will need to be on display in order for each individual to play with confidence and execute at a high level.
“Well, when you go on the road, it's different because you're not in your normal routine, first off. The noise will be an issue on third down, things like that,” Day said. “You can't ride the emotional rollercoaster. You have to play each play as it goes.”
Day has a confidence in his quarterback in a hostile environment, and he believes that Fields will be playing confident after a solid start to the campaign.
Instilling an ability to anticipate the defense is something that Day has been preaching to his young quarterback. Day has noted that the greats, such as Drew Brees and Tom Brady, know what the defense is going to do before they do it.
Day wants to raise Fields’s knowledge of an opponent to that level through strong preparation and an ability to successfully read the defense.
“Justin is very talented, but that's the goal,” Day said. “We want to get to the point where he knows exactly what's going on before the play, then it's just a matter of executing the play.”
