PROSPECT SUMMARY – TONY FIELDS II

Tony Fields II originally started his career at Arizona and eventually went on to transfer to play his final season at West Virginia. It didn’t take long for him to become the conductor of the Mountaineers defense. As the MIKE, he quickly became the focal point of the defense. A linebacker that deploys a patient game, he has lots of athleticism that helps him become a rangy option in the middle. There are questions about his length, but he has the body control to contort his body to avoid incoming blockers prior to making tackles. A menace when seeing ball locations, he quickly attacks those areas in order to bring ball-carriers down. A likely WILL linebacker on the next level, he has the athleticism and instincts necessary to be a contributor early on into his rookie contract.

Ideal Role: Developmental WILL linebacker.

Scheme Fit: Weakside LB in an attacking 4-2-5 defense.

FILM EVALUATION

Written by Jordan Reid

Games watched: Kansas State (2020), TCU (2020), Texas Tech (2020), Texas (2020), Baylor (2020), Iowa State (2020)

Best Game Studied: Kansas State (2020)

Worst Game Studied: Texas Tech (2020)

Tackling: He’s an aggressive tackler that has a lasting effect on matchups. Consistent with his ability to wrap up and bring ball-carriers down to the ground, he’s disciplined with his tackling technique(s). There haven’t been a lot of blatant misses throughout his career. No matter the angle that he’s attacking from, Fields II is a savvy and sure tackler.

Football IQ/Instincts: A natural in the middle, Fields II is a highly-aware linebacker prospect. His instincts as a run defender shine when he’s faced with lots of pre-snap motion combined with moving offensive linemen. The extraness attached to some plays hardly catch his eyes and he’s able to remain accurate with ball locations. Zone and gap/power concepts don’t speed up his mind as he’s able to remain even keel when defending each.

Competitive Toughness: Fields II is a high-level competitor that isn’t afraid to let out emotion. Considered to be an undersized player at the MIKE spot, he doesn’t allow that to hold him back from technical aspects at the position. While he’s a patient player overall, he has little trouble with throwing his body around into the mix with the opposition.

Pass Coverage Ability: In coverage, Fields II keeps his eyes fixated on the QB, which can be a gift and a curse for him. There are times where he’s unaware of which routes are entering and exiting his zones. Keeping his head on a swivel more will help him become more instinctual of his surroundings and the routes around him. Some stiffness is apparent in his top half and it’s evident when turning and running in coverage.

Run Defending: Some stiffness is evident on perimeter runs that are attacking outside of the tackle boxes. He helps himself by keeping his shoulders as square as possible prior to reacting. Once noticing where runs are designed to attack, he has a quick trigger that helps him overcome some of his prior weaknesses.

Block Deconstruction: Fields II is fully aware of the deficiencies of his frame. As a result, he’s able to display well above average body control as he can get skinny to alter his way around climbing offensive lineman. He has a well-developed understanding of his body structure and that he has to avoid head-on blows in order to have a chance at making tackles.

Lateral Mobility: Second-level patience is one of the biggest assets for Fields II. He lets the action come to him on the second level. An above-average processor of run concepts, he’s aware of seeing pullers and understanding how they can be a guide to ball locations. Fields II hardly ever shoots through gaps prematurely to take himself out of plays. He’s patient with plays and has the processing capacity to slow down and think through them.

Flexibility: Having a smaller frame in the middle works in his favor, as he’s able to bend his body in all types of directions as a run defender. As an explosive athlete in spots, he still has the body control necessary in order to change directions. Also evident in pass coverage, he’s a dropper that can match his body with his eyes when attempting to clog throwing lanes.

Leadership: Having transferred from Arizona and immediately becoming a mainstay on the team's defense speaks to Fields II's natural born traits as a leader. His playing style and communication skills have infused energy into the team's defense and his personality has been credited with galvanizing the group as a whole.

Versatility: Playing primarily MIKE, his long-term future may be best suited as a WILL. Because of his athleticism and coverage abilities, he matches up better when aligned to the weak side of formations where he will be placed in those types of situations more periodically. Because of his length limitations, some teams may feel as if he’s best suited on the exterior of the second level while others may value his traits enough to keep him in the middle.