KENNESAW, Ga. — We might’ve seen the last of Justin Fields as a high school player.
With Georgia coach Kirby Smart standing only a few feet away, Harrison High’s star quarterback and the Bulldogs’ prized commit ran off the field with a right hand injury on the penultimate play of third quarter on Thursday night. Quickly attended to by trainers, it was determined that Fields likely broke the index finger on his throwing hand and he was sidelined for the rest of the night.
His long-term prognosis was not immediately known.
Fields’ father, Ivant Fields, confirmed after the game that the finger is suspected to be broken and that, if it is, his son’s season is over. Talking to the team afterward, coach Matt Dickmann said he “sure would’ve liked to coach [Fields] longer.”
The injury occurred when Fields recovered his own fumble and then ran around the right end. After being hit on the hand on the tackle, Fields immediately ran to the sideline and dove face first on the ground with his hands outstretched above his head. There, trainers came to his aid, as he was surrounded by bystanders and the horde of cameras on the sidelines covering the game.
Fields, the nation’s top-rated prospect per the 247Sports composite, had rushed for 207 yards and a touchdown while throwing for 185 yards and another touchdown in the game. The Hoyas led regional rival Dalton 28-23 at the time.
Smart and Georgia running backs coach Dell McGee, Fields’ primary recruiter, had come to watch Fields live for the first time this season. The game also was televised on ESPN2.
Smart and McGee, who arrived early in the first quarter via helicopter from Athens, stayed for the entire game.
With sophomore Gavin Hall filling in at quarterback, Harrison hung on for an important 28-26 regional win. Both Harrison and Dalton are now 6-2.