NOTES: Desert Pines linebacker Fields tackles recruiting with gusto
Tony Fields II spins through his memory and then rattles off a few of the schools he has visited in the past six weeks.
“… Virginia, Northwestern, Notre Dame, West Virginia,” said Fields, a rising senior for Desert Pines’ football team. “I’ve been everywhere. And we plan on going more places.”
Fields, a 6-foot-2-inch, 205-pound linebacker, has been one of the area’s most heavily recruited players this spring. He has 19 scholarship offers — Northwestern was the most recent on April 30 — and his family has racked up plenty of hotel points over the past month and a half making unofficial visits on the weekends.
“My dad’s trying to make me live out the recruiting process from everybody that’s showing interest in me so far,” Fields said. “All in all, it’s a great experience, and I can’t thank anybody but my parents and my coaches for that.”
Fields was a second-team all-state selection and made the Division I-A All-Southern Region first team as a junior. He registered 93 tackles, three sacks and two interceptions to help the Jaguars reach the I-A state quarterfinals.
“He’s the modern-day linebacker/safety,” Desert Pines coach Tico Rodriguez said. “He’s the kind of kid that they’re using that have the skill set to cover slot receivers, and he’s physical enough to play the run. And he’s a highly skilled kid, very instinctive.”
Fields said he is making a second unofficial visit to Arizona this weekend. He’s also been to Brigham Young, where his father, Tony Sr., played defensive back, along with Utah, Arizona State, Illinois, San Diego State, Southern California and UCLA.
Fields said all his scholarship offers have been at outside linebacker, while Notre Dame, which has not offered Fields, is recruiting him as a safety.
“I play with my instincts,” Fields said. “I played offense all my life. I’m used to reading holes, so when I see a hole open up, I fill it right away.”
Fields is on schedule to graduate early and enroll in college in January, and said he plans to take his five official visits after the prep football season.
Fields is one of six rising seniors at Desert Pines attracting attention from Football Bowl Subdivision schools, joining quarterback Marckell Grayson (UNLV commit), running back Isaiah Morris (UNLV commit), wide receiver Randal Grimes (USC commit), offensive lineman Poutasi Poutasi and defensive end Jalen Graves.
“I love this program,” Fields said. “It’s a family bond, and that’s what I look for in a program as far as college, also. I want to have a family bond.”
■ RECENT COMMITMENTS — Del Sol senior Cordell Bowie to Allan Hancock College (California) and Legacy senior Hayden LeCates to Taft College (California) for baseball. … Mojave senior Daryl Adams to Arizona Western and Coral Academy senior Brennan Rosales to Massachusetts Institute of Technology for men’s basketball. … Palo Verde senior Brooklyn Cruz to Eastern Florida State College and Arbor View senior Katie Wolfram to Greenville College (Illinois) for women’s basketball. … Arbor View senior Morris Jackson to California Lutheran for football. … Centennial senior Peyton Green to Southern Utah for women’s track and field.
Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ
