Life as a Mountaineer - Tony Fields II
November 19, 2020 11:37 AM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Do you know why senior linebacker Tony Fields II leads West Virginia with 79 tackles - nearly 25 more than the next closest guy on the team?
Because he was taught at a young age to always get to the ball first.
"My father (Tony Fields Sr.) was my coach all my life and actually he stressed all my life getting to the ball no matter what," he says. "If you fall to the ground, get up as fast as you can and get to the ball and that's one thing I've been doing since I was five years old so it's kind of like human nature to me.
"I am going to make sure I get to the ball and make contact at all times," Fields adds. "Sometimes it looks like I'm crazy the way the way it comes off."
His numbers are beginning to look crazy, too – 15 tackles in the Kansas State win, 12 tackles at Texas and 14 in last week's win over TCU.
In his last three games, he's averaging nearly 14 tackles and if not for a targeting ejection in the first half of West Virginia's loss at Texas Tech, he would undoubtedly have even more tackles this year.
It's also likely West Virginia wins that game in Lubbock if Fields is out there chasing down Red Raider quarterback Henry Colombi.
The Las Vegas resident has been the energy boost the West Virginia linebacker corps has needed since his transfer from Arizona in August.
It took him a matter of just a couple of practices during fall camp to demonstrate his value to the team, and his 10-tackle performance in the season opener against Eastern Kentucky instantly sealed it.
His comfort level increases each time he's out there.
"Coming in so late it was kind of hard to be able to learn the playbook and get my teammates' trust in me," Fields explains. "They knew I came in late as well and it was like, 'Why should I trust this guy if I think I'm right?' I had to put a little extra work into my playbook and that was probably the hardest part about the transition, but once I figured it out it was a lot better. Now it's easy to fly around on the field."
Earlier this week, Fields accepted an invitation to play in this year's Senior Bowl as one of college football's top linebacker prospects.
He's probably the most impactful senior transfer West Virginia has had since Ryan Mundy transferred from Michigan in 2007.
At 220 pounds, it may seem like Fields is a little light to play linebacker in the NFL, but the league today is trending toward smaller, more agile linebackers capable of running down athletes in space. Former WVU standout David Long Jr., now with the Tennessee Titans, is about the same weight and a few inches shorter than Fields.
Fields also has a history of playing outside linebacker at Arizona, so his draft tape will show lots of versatility when pro scouts begin evaluating him.
"At Arizona, I played more will linebacker and I was more of a blitzer. I came off the edge a lot more and here I'm more of a Mike linebacker and I'm in the box more," he explains.
"I want to leave a legacy and leave a stamp with what I've tried to do here," Fields adds. "We have a young team so that's why I speak out. I've been through a lot and when I was in that position I was very immature and I didn't listen to the older guys.
"I know how to talk to them. I know how to give them a different perspective on things that the coaches are saying," he says. "They need to understand we're all we got at the end of the day, so it's us talking to each other, and it's a different relationship and a different respect factor with that."
Fields has already made his mark in one aspect – broken sledgehammers. That happened before the Texas game.
"I get real hyped and that's just what goes on. Coach Mike (Joseph) said, 'I don't want you to leave this end zone until the whole thing is hyped' so I made sure I could do it," Fields says. "I didn't even know I was hitting it that hard. When the (head) came off the whole team exploded, and we got what we needed going into the game.
"I play with energy, passion and as much effort as I can. I go out there every day on the field and play like it's my last game because I was told by a mentor of mine that he'd give anything to play another football game," he concludes.
This week's Life as a Mountaineer was produced by Sean Merinar and is presented each week by our friends at Panhandle Cleaning & Restoration.
Because he was taught at a young age to always get to the ball first.
"My father (Tony Fields Sr.) was my coach all my life and actually he stressed all my life getting to the ball no matter what," he says. "If you fall to the ground, get up as fast as you can and get to the ball and that's one thing I've been doing since I was five years old so it's kind of like human nature to me.
"I am going to make sure I get to the ball and make contact at all times," Fields adds. "Sometimes it looks like I'm crazy the way the way it comes off."
His numbers are beginning to look crazy, too – 15 tackles in the Kansas State win, 12 tackles at Texas and 14 in last week's win over TCU.
In his last three games, he's averaging nearly 14 tackles and if not for a targeting ejection in the first half of West Virginia's loss at Texas Tech, he would undoubtedly have even more tackles this year.
It's also likely West Virginia wins that game in Lubbock if Fields is out there chasing down Red Raider quarterback Henry Colombi.
The Las Vegas resident has been the energy boost the West Virginia linebacker corps has needed since his transfer from Arizona in August.
It took him a matter of just a couple of practices during fall camp to demonstrate his value to the team, and his 10-tackle performance in the season opener against Eastern Kentucky instantly sealed it.
His comfort level increases each time he's out there.
"Coming in so late it was kind of hard to be able to learn the playbook and get my teammates' trust in me," Fields explains. "They knew I came in late as well and it was like, 'Why should I trust this guy if I think I'm right?' I had to put a little extra work into my playbook and that was probably the hardest part about the transition, but once I figured it out it was a lot better. Now it's easy to fly around on the field."
Earlier this week, Fields accepted an invitation to play in this year's Senior Bowl as one of college football's top linebacker prospects.
He's probably the most impactful senior transfer West Virginia has had since Ryan Mundy transferred from Michigan in 2007.
At 220 pounds, it may seem like Fields is a little light to play linebacker in the NFL, but the league today is trending toward smaller, more agile linebackers capable of running down athletes in space. Former WVU standout David Long Jr., now with the Tennessee Titans, is about the same weight and a few inches shorter than Fields.
Fields also has a history of playing outside linebacker at Arizona, so his draft tape will show lots of versatility when pro scouts begin evaluating him.
"At Arizona, I played more will linebacker and I was more of a blitzer. I came off the edge a lot more and here I'm more of a Mike linebacker and I'm in the box more," he explains.
"I want to leave a legacy and leave a stamp with what I've tried to do here," Fields adds. "We have a young team so that's why I speak out. I've been through a lot and when I was in that position I was very immature and I didn't listen to the older guys.
"I know how to talk to them. I know how to give them a different perspective on things that the coaches are saying," he says. "They need to understand we're all we got at the end of the day, so it's us talking to each other, and it's a different relationship and a different respect factor with that."
Fields has already made his mark in one aspect – broken sledgehammers. That happened before the Texas game.
"I get real hyped and that's just what goes on. Coach Mike (Joseph) said, 'I don't want you to leave this end zone until the whole thing is hyped' so I made sure I could do it," Fields says. "I didn't even know I was hitting it that hard. When the (head) came off the whole team exploded, and we got what we needed going into the game.
"I play with energy, passion and as much effort as I can. I go out there every day on the field and play like it's my last game because I was told by a mentor of mine that he'd give anything to play another football game," he concludes.
This week's Life as a Mountaineer was produced by Sean Merinar and is presented each week by our friends at Panhandle Cleaning & Restoration.
Players Mentioned
LB
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Wednesday, April 08
Coach Rod West | April 8
Wednesday, April 08
Coach Rich Rodriguez | April 8
Wednesday, April 08
Ryan Ward | April 6
Monday, April 06
