Blue White Illustrated

TURNING THE CORNER Tariq Castro-Fields suffered through two injury-plagued seasons just as his career was taking off. Now he's looking to make the most of his final year at PSU ith no bowl game to prepare for, Penn State players had more time than usual to think about the future after their season ended in mid-December. For a lot of players, that meant looking ahead to the 2021 sea- son. Cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields found himself doing that, too. But he also found himself fast-forwarding past the Nittany Lions' upcoming campaign to a future in which his college football career is just a memory. "We got a lot of time at home, probably the longest I've gotten since I've been here," said the Upper Marlboro, Md., na- tive. "A lot of it was self-reflecting on what I wanted in my career here, what I wanted my legacy to be, how I wanted to be remembered. That was one of the main things on my mind." Ideally, Castro-Fields' legacy would be secure by now. When healthy, he's been one of the better defensive backs of the James Franklin era at Penn State, a sticky cover corner with a front-to-back under- standing of the Nittany Lions' scheme. Trouble is, he hasn't been healthy all that often lately. In 2019, Castro-Fields played hurt for much of the season, and his per- formance suffered. Last year, he was in- jured against Maryland and ended up missing the team's final six games en- tirely. That Castro-Fields still managed to win honorable mention All-Big Ten honors last fall despite playing in only three games is an indication of how highly the league's coaches and media think of him. But the accolade didn't do much to miti- gate his disappointment after a season in which he totaled just 12 tackles and a sin- gle pass breakup. Said Castro-Fields, "I just wanted to be able to be out there with my brothers." A key contributor since his freshman season, he continued to suit up for games last year; he just didn't play. Castro- Fields won't elaborate on what the injury was, but it kept him on the sideline for the majority of the season and turned him into essentially an extra coach during game weeks. That wasn't the role he had hoped to play in 2020, but as one of the defense's most experienced veterans, he wanted to set a good example for the younger cor- nerbacks. Joey Porter Jr., Marquis Wilson and Keaton Ellis had all joined the pro- gram in the Class of 2019 and were only in their second year on campus. Castro- Fields had arrived in 2017 and knew the defense as well as anyone in the second- ary. With so much expertise to share – and with the defense struggling early in the season – he knew he couldn't afford to disappear in a haze of self-pity, so he threw himself into his new role as a mentor. "When I wasn't playing, I was doing a lot of coach- ing and just sitting back and reflecting and helping the young guys out as best I could and learning the defense even more while I was just watching," he said. "I wasn't doing it physically, but mentally I was there 120 percent. I think my knowledge of the playbook grew a lot during the season, my film study grew a lot. I was watching more film than ever when I was hurt so I could help the young guys. I didn't want Joey, Marquis and Keaton to go out there and not be pre- pared. That was the main thing. I wanted those guys to do amazing things while they were out there. If they're doing good, that reflects on me because I'm the leader of the cornerback room. "Our relationships grew even more be- cause those guys got to trust me," he added. "A lot of guys, when they get hurt, they can easily mope around, just not be there. But I think I was 110 percent com- mitted to helping those young guys grow. They definitely trust me a lot more." That trust is well-founded. Before he began having injury problems, the 6- foot-0, 199-pound Castro-Fields was on a sharp upward trajectory. He played in 12 games as a true freshman and was an honorable mention All-Big Ten choice by BTN.com. A year later, he played in all 13 games and made three starts, tying for second on the team in pass breakups. The things he's already put on tape, coupled with his size and athletic ability, might have given Castro-Fields a shot at the NFL if he had left this year. He said that after the season, he talked it | CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH Castro-Fields was held out of six games last year due to an injury, but he's healthy again this spring and is eager to wrap up his Penn State career with a big senior season. Photo by Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics W

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