It sure seems like Dwan Mathis expects Justin Fields to transfer from Georgia – otherwise, he probably wouldn't have signed with the Bulldogs.
Mathis told The Detroit News that he didn't know if Fields was coming to Ohio State, but from the sound of it, he does know he's leaving Georgia. That leaves Georgia with just one scholarship quarterback and a much clearer path to playing time with the Bulldogs than at Ohio State, regardless of if Field heads to Columbus.
From an article perplexingly titled ‘It’s not about Justin Fields,’ where the writer, Mathis and his high school head coach explain that his decision was absolutely about Justin Fields:
“I just signed with Georgia,” Mathis told The Detroit News. “It’s not always about Justin Fields. I didn’t know if Fields was going to Ohio State so I decided to go to a place that I had the best chance of playing at in a couple of years.
“I’ve been wavering back and forth for the last couple of days, but I decided today (Wednesday) really. I decided to go to Georgia because of my chances of playing more. They only have one quarterback on scholarship on their roster (Jake Fromm). I’m enrolling early, can’t wait to get there.”
While Mathis himself said the decision was much more about Fields leaving Georgia than it was the possibility that he'd transfer to Ohio State, Mathis high school head coach seems to think Fields' expected destination certainly played a role.
Oak Park coach Greg Carter wasn’t surprised by Mathis’ decision, hearing the rumors of Fields, the No. 1 ranked dual-threat quarterback in the nation for the 2018 class.
“With the events of the past couple of days with the Justin Fields kid and all that, they anticipated him going to Ohio State, so I can’t say I was surprised,” Carter said. “I’m just happy that Dwan had options. I think they (Ohio State) wanted both of them.
“I think he’s going to have a great opportunity at Georgia. They’ll be returning the starter in Fromm, but they don’t have very many quarterbacks after that. They have a walk-on and Dwan will get an opportunity to get in the mix, hopefully at some point get some playing time quick. I think that’s what the goal is.
One way or another, Mathis' flip means Ohio State is going to need quarterbacks, both immediately and in the future. The Buckeyes currently have only three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, and Ryan Day said the goal is always to have four.
While he wouldn't elaborate on a plan to get to four and would not discuss any potential incoming players specifically, he certainly did not rule out the prospect of adding a talented transfer player.
“We’ll always look at all the options,” Day said. “Whatever we think can help our roster. The guys who are in our program, obviously they develop and work through our program, and so those guys obviously have priority. But if there is a need and there is someone that we need to plug in there, we’ll look at all those options.”
In addition to a potential incoming transfer, Mathis' flip also means the Buckeyes will likely take an additional quarterback in the 2020 recruiting class, along with four-star commit Jack Miller.
