Neal Brown Impressed by Tony Fields II: "He's Going to Play in the NFL"
West Virginia desperately needed some help in the linebacking unit heading into the 2020 season and not because they were short on talent. It was more of a case where all that talent was so young and hadn't played much college football. Neal Brown and his staff went to work on the recruiting trail this summer and plucked former Arizona linebacker Tony Fields II out of the transfer portal.
Photo courtesy of WVU Football
Tim Curlee - WVU Football
Fields chose West Virginia over Minnesota and Big 12 foe, Texas.
Last Saturday, Fields made his Mountaineer debut, and he did not disappoint one bit. He led the team in tackles (10), and following the game, he earned a lot of praise from head coach Neal Brown.
"He plays with a lot of energy. He brings a speed element to the defense that we probably haven't had in my two years here. He's still learning what to do, but he plays full speed. He loves contact, loves to play, and he's only going to continue to get better. He’s an NFL prospect. I mean, he’s going to play in the NFL.”
Although he led the team in tackles in the season opener, Fields is still trying to get caught up to speed after a late arrival to fall camp. He announced his transfer to West Virginia on August 10th and still had to go through the COVID-19 testing protocols and clear them before participating in any team activities. So, it almost works out perfectly for Fields as he was able to get one game under his belt and now has a bye week to make any corrections that he needs to and become more familiar with the defensive scheme.
"These next two weeks are big," Brown said. "This week isn't a normal bye week. It's continuing to get him conditioned to play, continue to get him confidence in the schematics that we're running. He didn't have a whole lot of missed assignments in the game. This week and next are going to be big for him without a doubt."
Should Fields play like he did Saturday throughout the entirety of the season, there is no question that he will be making his way onto an NFL roster next fall.
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