NFL: Will Justin Fields end the recent streak of Ohio State Buckeyes QBs failing in the league?
Former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Justin Fields has a lot weighing on his shoulders heading into the 2021 NFL draft and the pressure could be too much.
The young QB has already seen his draft stock rise and fall more than any other quarterback in the draft class. Fields is also burdened with the pressure of succeeding in the NFL to not only prove his doubters wrong but also prove that Ohio State can produce elite quarterbacks after college.
There have been a few quarterbacks that have shone at Ohio State but bombed as soon as they were drafted.
The list of Ohio State Buckeyes QBs that have failed in the NFL
Fields has to pick up the pieces from those other quarterbacks and show NFL franchises that he's the new crop of Buckeyes quarterbacks that can succeed in the NFL.
There's a lot of pressure, but if there's a quarterback that can handle it, it's Justin Fields. Let's take a look at the other Ohio State quarterbacks that have made the jump to the NFL and couldn't live up to their potential.
Troy Smith
Troy Smith played four years at Ohio State and put together a great college football career. Smith started in three out of four years for the Ohio State Buckeyes. During his three years at Ohio State, Troy Smith threw for 5,720 passing yards, 54 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Smith had a great 2006-2007 college season. He won several awards during his senior season for the Buckeyes.
Troy Smith's College Awards & Honors
- 2006 AP Player of the Year Award
- 2006 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year
- 2006 Consensus All-America
- 2006 Davey O'Brien Award
- 2006 Heisman Memorial Trophy
- 2006 Walter Camp Player of the Year Award
After a successful senior season, Troy Smith didn't hear his name called until the fifth-round of the 2007 NFL draft. The Baltimore Ravens selected the former Buckeyes quarterback. Smith played four seasons in the NFL, but only started a total of eight games.
During his four-year NFL career, Troy Smith threw for 1,734 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions. This is a huge drop in production compared to his college stats. Troy Smith spent three years with the Ravens before ending his career with the San Francisco 49ers.
Terrell Pryor
Terrell Pryor started three years for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Pryor was a highly touted quarterback coming into college and didn't disappoint. Even though Terrell Pryor didn't win any major awards at Ohio State, he had great stats.
Terrell Pryor Passing/Rushing Stats at Ohio State
- Passing yards: 6,177 yards
- Passing touchdowns: 57
- Interceptions: 26
- Rushing yards: 2,164 yards
- Rushing touchdowns: 17
Terrell Pryor also had two receiving touchdowns during his career at Ohio State. The Oakland Raiders selected Terrell Pryor in the third round of the 2011 NFL Supplemental draft. Pryor went on to play three seasons with the Oakland Raiders but only started 10 games.
After spending time with the Raiders, Terrell Pryor took his talents back to Ohio to join the Cleveland Browns. Pryor played one season at quarterback for Cleveland before making the transition to wide receiver and enjoyed his most fruitful season in the NFL.
Terrell Pryor never carried over his success as a quarterback to the NFL. All his success was at wide receiver. Terrell Pryor caught 115 passes for 1,563 receiving yards and seven touchdowns at wide receiver in the NFL.
J.T. Barrett
J.T. Barrett is one of the most successful Ohio State quarterbacks in recent years. He put together four great years for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Whenever Urban Meyer needed a big play in a tight game, he turned to Barrett.
J.T. Barrett leads the Big Ten in career passing touchdowns. Barrett also leads the Big Ten in touchdowns responsible for, with 147. Here are the stats that J.T. Barrett registered at Ohio State.
J.T. Barrett's Career Stats at Ohio State
- Completion percentage: 63.5%
- Passing yards: 9,434 yards
- Touchdowns: 104
- Interception: 30
Barrett also added 656 carries for 3,263 rushing yards and 43 rushing touchdowns over four years with the Buckeyes. J.T. Barrett went undrafted but ended up signing with the New Orleans Saints. The Saints and Barrett went back and forth between 2018 and 2019.
Barrett was added to the Pittsburgh Steelers' practice squad in 2019. The Steelers ended up offering Barrett a reserve/future contract. Ultimately, the Steelers ended up cutting J.T. Barrett on August 3, 2020.
Dwayne Haskins Jr.
Dwayne Haskins started one full season for the Ohio State Buckeyes. In his only season as a starter, he completed 70% of his passes for 4,831 yards, 50 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Haskins was not very mobile at Ohio State, rushing for 194 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns on 103 attempts.
During his time with the Ohio State Buckeyes, Dwayne Haskins won the 2018 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and the 2018 Sammy Baugh Trophy. Haskins announced that he's entering the Draft after the 2018-2019 college season.
His lack of experience played a big factor in him falling to Washington in the 2019 NFL draft. During an interview after he was drafted, Dwayne Haskins said that he was going to make every team that passed on him regret that decision. The former Ohio State quarterback played two seasons with the Washington Football Team and started 13 games.
Haskins registered 2,804 passing yards, 12 passing touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Ultimately Dwayne Haskins' immaturity led to him getting released by Washington. The Steelers have signed Haskins to a reserve/future contract this off-season. It'll be interesting to see how his NFL career turns out with the Steelers.
The past four Ohio State starting QBs that were drafted by NFL teams have failed miserably. Their failures have also led to doubts about Justin Fields' actual potential ahead of the 2021 NFL draft.
Still, Fields is projected to be a top 10 in the upcoming draft. The pressure is on him to single-handedly turn Ohio State's recent reputation of producing mediocre NFL QBs.