Continuing our countdown of the 10 most valuable Arizona Wildcats of 2018 besides the incredibly obvious No. 1 choice.
You won’t find junior quarterback Khalil Tate on this list, because, well, who else possibly could rank atop it?
Before we go any further, two quick reminders:
- “Most valuable” does not necessarily mean “best.” Rather, we’re defining it as the contributions and traits that most influence winning football. They include talent, leadership and projected role and production.
- Newcomers were not eligible. Even though freshmen played a huge role on last year’s team, it’s just too hard to predict who will have an immediate impact before training camp gets underway.
NO. 5: LB TONY FIELDS II
Ht/Wt/Yr: 6-1, 225, sophomore
Comment: From the moment spring practice began in 2017, Fields was the first name anyone mentioned when asked about newcomers making an immediate impact.
We’ve all been fooled by spring stars before. Fields lived up to the hype, and then some.
Fields started every game at “Will” linebacker as a true freshman and led the Wildcats with 104 tackles. He had 7.5 stops for losses, including five sacks, and an interception.
Fields had an immediate and significant impact. He quickly established himself as one of the defense’s best and most vocal players. Win or lose, he made himself available to the media after games. That’s a promising sign for a budding leader.
But Fields spoke loudest on the field, fearlessly flying around and hurling his body into bigger blockers and ball-carriers. He was credited with double-digit tackles seven times, including a career-high 13 – all solos – in the season-ending Foster Farms Bowl against Purdue.
Which isn’t to say Fields was flawless. Although willing to mix it up in congested areas, he sometimes got engulfed by the 300-pound linemen assigned to smother him. Fields also did not produce quite as many big plays – i.e., takeaways – as some of his teammates. (Spoiler alert: Fields’ uber-productive classmate and fellow linebacker Colin Schooler will appear somewhere in the top four.)
So there’s room for growth, which is to be expected. Fields should be much stronger as a sophomore, and he should be more adept at using his hands, leverage and angles to fend off blockers. That’s part of the adjustment process for players when they move from high school to college, where, in most cases, they’re no longer the fastest or most powerful guy on the field.
Fields should be smarter too, having had a full season – and a full offseason – to absorb Marcel Yates’ scheme. It would behoove Yates, and benefit the defense, to give Fields a breather every now and then; he and Schooler probably played more snaps than they should have as freshmen. Anthony Pandy’s development and Troy Young’s move from safety to “Will” offer Yates, who’s now coaching the linebackers, two viable alternatives.
But make no mistake: For the UA defense to make the jump many believe it is capable of, Fields must play a central role. He must continue to be an effective blitzer, improve against the run and add coverage skills to his toolbox.
Few players on the Arizona roster are capable of all three. The ascending Fields is one of them.
10 MOST VALUABLE CATS (BESIDES KHALIL TATE)
