“What pushed me through was the love for my brothers. I would do anything for these guys.” – Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields
With 5:57 remaining in the 2nd quarter of the Ohio State-Clemson College Football Playoff semifinal game, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields left the safety of the pocket and scrambled down the middle of the field. It was there where he received a wicked hit to the ribs from Clemson linebacker James Skalski. After lying on the ground and writhing in pain for several moments, Fields was helped off the field. A video of this moment is shown below.
After missing only one play, Fields returned to the game despite wincing and holding his injured ribs in enormous amounts of pain. He immediately threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game, a 9-yard completion to wide receiver Chris Olave. This combination was not finished.
Fields would finish the game completing 22 of 28 passes for 385 yards and a Sugar Bowl record 6 touchdowns. A complete video compilation of his game highlights are shown at the conclusion of this post.
Below is a video of his postgame interview with ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi:
https://youtu.be/8-wkK0nH8ws
After listening to Fields’s interview and accessing other postgame comments, the following are 10 Lessons From The Courageous Leadership Of Justin Fields. All comments are from Fields.
- Courageous Leadership Originates With Jesus Christ – The ultimate picture of courage is the cruxifixction of Jesus Christ on the cross and all He chose to endure on our behalf. Fields said, “I just want to give all my thanks to God. Without Him I’d be nothing, we’d be nothing. So I’m just blessed.”
- Courageous Leadership Requires Paying A Significant Price – What makes leadership courageous is its willingness to pay the significant price necessary to overcome significant adversity. Fields admitted, “That hit really took a toil on me. My ribs were killing me pretty much all game.” He also said in the postgame press conference that he could not run and every pass hurt.
- Courageous Leadership Often Needs Assistance – Sometimes an act of the will is simply not enough. Fields acknowledged needing “a couple shots” while in the medical tent after the Skalski’s hit.
- Courageous Leadership Is Fueled By Love – Urban Meyer has often said that there is nothing more powerful than the brotherhood. Evidently, Fields would agree with him. He said, “What pushed me through was the love for my brothers. I would do anything for these guys.”
- Courageous Leadership Is Sustainable – “That loss fueled our whole off-season. It really fueled our whole season.”
- Courageous Leadership Is Humble And Respectful – Fields gave credit to where credit is due. He said, “Clemson’s a great team. They played a hard-fought game.”
- Courageous Leadership Focus On The Essentials. It Does Not Prioritize Secondary Issues. – When asked about Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney ranking them as the 11th best team, Fields said, “I’m not even going to comment about that. I’m just glad we won.”
- Courageous Leadership Cannot Be Stopped – Coach Day said in an ESPN postgame interview, “He took a big hit. He looked me in the eye and said, ‘There’s no way we’re losing this game.'”
- Courageous Leadership Can Often Not Be Put Into Words – Coach Day added, “What he means to me I can’t put into words.”
- Courageous Leaders Are Special – Coach Day said in the postgame press conference, “What a tough and special young man Justin Fields is.”
What is one thing you learned from Field’s inspirational performance which will make you a more courageous leader.
The full video package of Fields’s iconic performance is shown below.
During the 2019 college football season, fans were given a gift when legendary coach Urban Meyer joined Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff preview show as a studio analyst. As a three-time national championship head coach, Coach Meyer’s ability to deliver complex leadership principles with brevity and concise terminology created a compelling experience for educated and “smart” fans. Throughout the season, I captured Coach Meyer’s best leadership quotes from this weekly show. I wanted to make them available to you in this new complimentary resource Urban Meyer 2019 Fox Sports Big Noon Kickoff Ebook.