Linebacker Tony Fields was a three-year starter and played over 2,300 snaps at Arizona before deciding to finish his career elsewhere last summer.
That path took the graduate transfer to West Virginia, where he continued his success leading the team in tackles with 88 as well as an interception and a sack.
Even more impressive is that all of that was amassed in essentially eight games, as Fields was questionably ejected for targeting at the end of the first quarter against Texas Tech and then didn’t play at all in the Liberty Bowl against Army.
Fields basically assimilated into the team without any issues despite arriving late in the summer which speaks to his ability to adjust to any environment. Skills that will be critical at the NFL level.
It was a win-win for both as Fields filled a need for the Mountaineers at MIKE linebacker and he was able to put film of himself playing a new position on tape. During his three years with the Wildcats, Fields played primarily at WILL but was given a different opportunity in his one season in Morgantown.
An opportunity that only helped him with NFL scouts.
“Experience at MIKE definitely helped. Coming to play MIKE and set the front and call the plays more and having to learn a total opposite position it helped out a lot,” he said.
After the regular season ended, Fields returned to his native Las Vegas to begin training for the draft. He spent time at Phase One Sports with a former West Virginia player in Trippe Hale. While he felt bad that he didn’t finish the year in the bowl game, Fields was admittedly beat up and dealing with injuries.
“Now, I feel the best I ever have in my life,” he said.
That was on display at the West Virginia Pro Day where he ran a 4.50 40-yard dash and moved well in all of the drills according to his former head coach Neal Brown.
“I thought his movements were really efficient and he really helped himself,” Brown said.
NFL teams envision Fields as a WILL, MIKE or even nickel linebacker at the next level and he hasn’t hurt for interest in the pre-draft process. All 32 teams have spoken with him already and he has done a number of interviews to go through playbooks and schemes.
“This process hasn’t really been hard. It’s been something I’ve been working on my whole life and have been ready for this moment,” he said. “Waking up every day and training two times a day isn’t nothing to me because I’ve wanted to do this.”
Fields based his game around players like Devin White and Darius Leonard, two of the best linebackers in the NFL that also are known for their speed, pursuit and passion.
Fields plans to play at 226-pounds this upcoming season and while he doesn’t know where he will eventually land, he’s already proven he can handle adjustments to new surroundings on the fly.
“If I get picked up, I’m happy,” he said.
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