Prospect Spotlight: TJ Fields – Tartan (2021)

Tartan senior [player_tooltip player_id="23739" first="TJ" last="Fields"] has had to adjust to a lot since the middle of his junior football season. An injury in his junior year forced him into a reduced role. COVID19 caused – like everyone – Fields to alter his training and his coaches asked him to take on a new role for his senior year. "I started at strong safety and running back my junior year," Fields explained. "In the fifth game, I landed on my head and hurt my neck. I still played all the games, but the coaches were careful with me, and I rotated in at strong safety and running back the second half of the year." This season, Fields moved to a new but not unfamiliar position. "The coaches thought linebacker was a better fit for me," Fields explained. "I played linebacker in junior high, so it wasn’t completely new, but it has been a big difference. Linebacker is much more physical, but I like it a lot." The Titans picked up a win in their season opener last week, but it has not been a smooth lead up to the season. "It has been kind of rough for us so far," Fields said. "We are missing some key players, but we fought through the adversity and pulled out our first win. Practices were kind of rough because some guys were not able to participate because of COVID. We had to find other guys to step up, and it looks like we found the right people." Although it is early, Fields thinks he has a good feel for the team. "Our strengths are going to be running the ball and playing defense. Once we get all our guys back, our defense should be really good." Fields usually plays the weak-side linebacker spot. "My speed and strength are my strengths. I am quicker than most tight ends, so I can get by them. My speed and quickness are my strengths as a running back as well. I also am able to read the defense and find the hole." In a typical year, Fields is a three-sport athlete. "I played basketball and was a point guard and a shooting guard. I mainly played JV, but I played some varsity. Defense is probably my strength. I would have been in track. I would have run the 100 and the 200, and I also high jump." When things locked down, Fields was fortunate enough to have some workout options. "I have kind of a weight room in my basement, and I have a big enough backyard to do some agility stuff," Fields told prepredzone.com. "After things died down a little bit into the summer, I worked with a personal trainer. For weightlifting, I mainly worked on my upper body. When I was working with my trainer, we worked on speed and agility." The 6’0" 186-pound senior has just started to catch the attention of local colleges. "I have gotten interest from some schools and am still trying to get other colleges to look at me. Augsburg, Hamline, Gustavus, St. Scholastica, and Bethel are looking at me. I like both sides of the ball, but the schools are mainly looking at me as a running back. They say I run hard and say I am good at reading defenses." Like his senior season, Fields will have to adjust to wherever he ends up playing college football too.