The 10 biggest ‘what ifs’ for Penn State Football recruiting

1. What if Justin Fields Never De-committed?

Not only is this the biggest ‘what if’ for Penn State to date, it’s one of the most talked about what ifs in all of college football.

Fields committed to Penn State Football and then offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead in December of 2016. At the time, Fields was ranked a 4-star, but he wasn’t anywhere near the high-profile recruit he would later become. After committing to Penn State though, Fields’ recruitment took off and the local Georgia Bulldogs started to crank up the heat on him.

By June of 2017, the pressure mounted and Fields de-committed from Penn State. He would commit to Georgia in October of 2017 and sign with the Dawgs that December. Fields’ first season with Georgia did not go well, he played sparingly behind starter Jake Fromm and decided to transfer with Fromm still not draft eligible until after 2019.

Fields had the option of practically every team in the country and he chose Ohio State, who had just lost starter Dwayne Haskins to the draft. After all that, Fields ended up playing for Penn State’s divisional rival.

Fields led Ohio State to two straight College Football Playoff appearances, he went 2-0 against Penn State and finished his career with 5,373 passing yards, 63 touchdowns and just nine interceptions in two years in Columbus.

Had Fields stuck with Penn State, he would have led the 2019 squad that went 11-2, with a loss to Fields and Ohio State.

It is very likely that Penn State would have made the Playoff in 2019, and at least found a way to make a New Year’s Six bowl in 2020 had the future first round pick been the quarterback.

Fields said that one of his main concerns with Penn State was that Moorhead would leave for a head coaching job before he arrived on campus, and that did happen with Moorhead heading to Mississippi State after the 2017 season, so it’s hard to fault him there. Regardless, it’s hard to swallow having the eighth highest rated recruit of all time in your class, only for him to end up beating you twice with your rival.