No surprise: Ryan Day names Fields OSU starting QB

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio State coach Ryan Day today made official what most people figured was a foregone conclusion: Georgia transfer Justin Fields will be the starting quarterback when the No. 5 Buckeyes open the season Aug. 31 against Florida Atlantic.

Day had lured the talented sophomore in January to succeed Dwayne Haskins Jr., and Fields practiced with the starters from the moment he arrived. His main competition this preseason was Gunnar Hoak, a graduate transfer from Kentucky who got to campus this summer and is still memorizing the playbook.

Still, Day was measured in his praise of Fields, who was one of the highest-rated prep prospects in the nation in 2018 but couldn't wrest the starting job away from Jake Fromm at Georgia last season before deciding to transfer.

"All that means is that Justin will be taking the first snap on [in the opener], and where it goes from there, who knows," Day said. "All the guys had good camps, but Justin kind of separated himself the last week."

Fields showed some chops but was not spectacular in the spring game, and Day said it took him a few weeks of preseason camp to find his feet.

"I think just now he's starting to scratch the surface," Day said. "I still don't think he's where he needs to be."

Fields said he has worked hard to get better on the field and has been trying to be more vocal and become a more forceful leader, an area where Haskins initially struggled last season.