Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Justin Fields is now officially listed in the NCAA transfer portal, according to UGASports.com's Paul Maharry.
That means other schools are now free to contact the former 5-star prospect about transferring.
Reports first emerged on Monday that Fields was planning to transfer from Georgia, where in his first season he was limited to mainly back-up duties to starter Jake Fromm
According to USA Today Sports, Fields notified Georgia on Friday that he ended to transfer at the end of the season. The school then had to put his name in the NCAA transfer portal within two business days, which is now appears has happened.
The move officially makes Fields a free agent. Any school is now allowed to recruit him, according to USA Today.
Where will Justin Fields transfer?
As a top-ranked dual-threat quarterback from last year's recruiting class, Fields will likely have plenty of suitors. Some speculation has linked him to Oklahoma and Ohio State.
Other schools, including Auburn, Florida State, Penn State (where Fields once committed) and Mississippi State, have also been mentioned.
Bottom line: we don't know yet.
When could Justin Fields play after transferring?
From USA Today:
Though NCAA transfer rules require athletes to sit out a year, there’s a waiver process to play immediately that has gotten pretty lenient in recent years. And Fields could have a very strong case to get that waiver.
During the Sept. 29 game against Tennessee, Georgia baseball player Adam Sasser was heard by multiple people in the stands referring to Fields with a racial slur. The incident blew up publicly, and Georgia dismissed Sasser from the baseball team after an investigation. It’s certainly plausible that Fields could include that in his request under a new NCAA rule that allows for waivers “due to documented mitigating circumstances that are outside the student-athlete’s control and directly impact the health, safety and well-being of the student-athlete.”
That vague wording has led to a number of players becoming eligible immediately, including Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson after transferring from Ole Miss. Even Georgia recently benefited from this rule when receiver Demetris Robinson was ruled eligible this season after transferring from California.
Though some Georgia fans will argue it’s a stretch to connect the racially charged incident to Fields’ transfer, that probably isn’t an area Georgia or the NCAA would want to contest, given the sensitivity of the topic. After all, who is anyone to say that an African-American teenager who became part of a national story because a fellow Georgia athlete called him the N-word wasn’t impacted negatively by that situation?
Fields, it seems, would have a pretty good case to play in 2019.