With the Early Signing Period approaching, Ohio State football could be on the verge of landing one of the nation's top quarterbacks.
Only he'd be arriving via an unlikely avenue.
According to Kyle Rowland of The Toledo Blade, the Buckeyes are currently the front-runner to land Justin Fields, who USA Today reported will transfer from Georgia. A former 5-star prospect, Fields ranked as the No. 1 quarterback and No. 2 overall player in the 2018 class and signed with the Bulldogs over the likes of Alabama, LSU and Penn State a year ago.
But with Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm only a sophomore, playing time for Fields proved scarce for Fields in 2018. Appearing in 12 games in either situational or mop-up duty, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound quarterback completed 27 of 39 pass attempts for 328 yards and 4 touchdowns, while adding 266 yards and 4 scores on the ground.
With Fromm due back in Athens for at least one more season, a pathway to increased playing time for Fields could have proven difficult in 2019.
Although transfers have traditionally had to sit out a season before playing, according to UGASports.com, Fields is expected to retain the attorney who helped pave the way for Shea Patterson to play immediately upon transferring to Michigan from Ole Miss. The expectation is that Fields will then petition the NCAA for immediate eligibility.
In addition to Ohio State, Fields is reportedly considering Florida State and Oklahoma. Behind Haskins' the Buckeyes currently have two quarterbacks on scholarship in Tate Martell and Matthew Baldwin, with 4-star prospect Dwan Mathis committed to Ohio State's 2019 class.
College football's Early Signing Period will begin on Wednesday.