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Scarlet Sunrise: Gunnar Hoak, Justin Fields arrive at Ohio State with different backgrounds

Spencer-Holbrookby:Spencer Holbrook•07/15/19•

SpencerHolbrook

Justin Fields QB Week rewind

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Gunnar Hoak has never been afraid to compete at quarterback

Gunnar Hoak, a Dublin native and now quarterback at Ohio State, transferred to the Buckeyes from Kentucky.
Hoak’s high school success still resonates in the football program he played for. His example has stuck, even when Hoak went to Kentucky. Now, he’s at Ohio State, where he will compete with the favorite, Justin Fields, for the starting job. John Brice caught up with Hoak’s high school coach to provide insight on Hoak.

Justin Fields has expanded playbooks, loaded highlight reels for years

The first highlight tape had arrived before Justin Fields played a snap of high school football.

By the end of Fields’ sophomore season at Harrison High School (Kennesaw, Ga.), coach Matt Dickmann knew his squad’s offense was about to take things up a notch.

“Justin was in our middle school program, and they would play on Saturday mornings and afternoons, and I’d try to make it a point to go watch,” Dickmann told Lettermen Row this week. “I got to see Justin play a little bit, and his dad had made up a nice highlight tape for him.

“Justin’s freshman year, we had a good quarterback, Lorenzo Nunez, who was going to South Carolina. And Justin did a great job with the freshman. The next year, he was the starter for varsity.”

And Dickmann started to realize just how much more he could open up his offensive playbook for Fields, the former consensus five-star prospect who transferred from Georgia to Ohio State after last season and has positioned himself to potentially be the Buckeyes’ replacement for NFL first-rounder Dwayne Haskins.

Ohio State targets headed elsewhere

Over the weekend, the recent Ohio State recruiting momentum didn’t help the Buckeyes. Ohio State target and current high school teammate of Buckeye commit Gee Scott Jr., Sam Adams II, committed to Washington.

Saturday, longtime Ohio State defensive tackle target Vernon Broughton narrowed his list to two schools, and the Buckeyes didn’t make the cut. Instead, he’ll choose between two of his home state schools: Texas and Texas A&M.

Counting down

  • Big Ten Media Days: 3 days
  • Ohio State vs. Florida Atlantic (season opener): 47 days
  • Ohio State at Michigan: 138 days

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