Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said during his Monday press conference that he expects quarterback Justin Fields to play in the College Football Playoff National Championship against Alabama on Jan. 11 (8 p.m. on ESPN).
Fields suffered an undisclosed injury in the second quarter of the Buckeyes’ 49-28 win over Clemson in the Sugar Bowl when he was hit in the midsection by Tigers linebacker James Skalski, which drew a targeting penalty. He missed just one play, but was visibly in pain on the field and during his postgame interview.
“Justin is such a competitive guy. He wasn’t going to come off the field,” Day said. “That’s just the way he’s wired. It was a pretty amazing performance.”
Fields finished the game with 385 passing yards and a Sugar Bowl and school-record tying six touchdown passes to earn the game’s offensive most valuable player honors. He said afterward he took an injection to keep playing but did not have a specific diagnosis for his injury.
“The next day, his comment to me was he felt better waking up in the morning than he expected,” Day said, noting Ohio State doesn’t share injury information outside of an availability report in the hours before the game. “We’ll keep working through the week and have a great week of preparation and get ready to play Monday night.”
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