UVA’s Fields high in national rankings, big problem for defenses

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Malachi Fields is off to the monstrous start that Tony Elliott and Des Kitchings had wished for. All during training camp, they pushed Fields to become a more aggressive receiver and pushed him to take advantage of his 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame, and all that pushing has paid off.

Fields, a product of Charlottesville’s Monticello High School program, ranks among the nation’s top pass receivers after two weeks of college football. He is No. 10 in the country in receptions per game (8.0), and No. 11 in both receiving yards (248) and receiving yards per game (124).

With fellow receiver Trell Harris also off to an effective start and the emergence of Tyler Neville at tight end, both Elliott and Kitchings believe that should help take some pressure off Fields, because defenses will have to pick their poison.

“He’s such a big body,” Elliott said this week. “He corrected me the other day. I said he was 6-3 and he’s like, ‘No, coach, I’m 6-4.’ So he’s 6-4, 220 and hard to tackle, and what you’re seeing is that he’s getting a lot of yards after contact because getting the ball in his hands, he’s making people miss, something that we didn’t see a ton of last year, but we knew he was capable of.”

So far this season, Virginia’s receivers have gotten a lot of zone and “soft” coverage, which has allowed for several easy throws from quarterback Anthony Colandrea to Fields and others. As Kitchings points out, this coming Saturday night, that may not be the case.

“We’re going to get some man [coverage] this week, which would be a different challenge,” Kitchings said. “[Maryland] will try to take away some of those easy throws to Mal, and we’ll have to see how he handles those one-on-one battles.”

UVA’s offensive coordinator feels good about those scenarios for Fields because of the work the receiver has put in during the offseason, and because of Harris and Neville being effective targets.

“Hopefully we will give the defense some things to think about,” Kitchings said.

Last week, in a last-second, 27-24 loss to Michigan State, Maryland surrendered 363 yards through the air, which could present some opportunities to Colandrea and his fleet of receivers, particularly if Fields is getting single coverage. He’s not likely going to find many defensive backs near his size.

If the Terps go away from man, then it could be a field day for Fields.

“Whenever anyone gives us soft coverage, we’re going to try and take that gift,” Elliott said. “Then, when we get a chance to go down the field, it’s going to be interesting to see because you’ve got Malachi, but then you’ve also got Trell on the other side that’s balancing it out, because you’ve got to honor and respect the speed and his ability to make plays.”

Harris beat Wake Forest’s secondary early in last week’s game and couldn’t hold onto a sure, 55-yard touchdown pass from Colandrea in the Wake end zone. Certainly he showed that he can put pressure on a defense, and that can only help Fields and others get open.

That’s what makes Elliott’s and Kitchings’ offense click, is when there’s three capable receivers on the field at the same time, which stretches the defense from sideline to sideline and possibly creates some running room for Virginia’s rushing attack.

“Malachi is playing his side and Des and AC (Colandrea) are doing a great job of just taking what [defenses] are giving us,” Elliott said. “There were times when we were playing with tempo and [Wake] couldn’t get lined up, so not as much Mal as it was just the system, playing fast and catching them off-balance.

“Still, [Fields] is doing a much better job after the catch, just running with passion and a violence that we’ve been challenging him to do for his size,” Elliott said.

Fields had a tremendous game against Wake Forest, hauling in 11 passes for 148 yards, including a 45-yarder. Against Richmond the week before, he had another big day, including a long, diving, Play-of-the-Day worthy catch that drew praise from his coaches and his quarterback.

Enjoying his first career 100-yard receiving game vs. the Spiders, Fields was targeted six times and had five catches in the opener, including 47 yards after contact. The stretched-out, diving play covered 41 yards.

“I’ll say I haven’t seen a play like the one Malachi made, that diving play, since (Clemson’s) Mike Williams did it his freshman year against NC State,” said Elliott, who coached Williams at Clemson. “Unbelievable, full-extension play. It’s wet. No gloves. That was a big-time play to be able to come down with that ball.”

Elliott said he thought Fields took a step in elevating his game in the opener, and that just continued on last week in Winston-Salem.

“That was one of the craziest catches I’ve ever seen in my life,” Colandrea said after the Fields’ diving catch. “He’s an absolute stud.”