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18 CAVALIER CORNER "I told him, 'Man, if you lead, they'll follow,' and he's done a much better job of that. And that's why he's one of the most well-liked, well-respected teammates, because he does what he's supposed to do off the field, but he plays his butt off on the field too." It might not come naturally to Fields, but the 6-foot-4, 220-pound fourth-year said he's been "trying to develop that vocal side, because showing is always one thing, but some guys need to hear and see it." He's thriving in this role. Through three four, Fields had 24 catches for 349 yards and 2 touchdowns. He ranked fourth among ACC players in receptions per game (6.0) and fifth in yards per game (87.3). "He's such a big body," Virginia head coach Tony Elliott said. "He's 6-4, 220 pounds and hard to tackle, and what you're seeing is that he's getting a lot of yards after contact, because [after] getting the ball in his hands he's making people miss, some- thing that we didn't see a ton of last year but we knew he was capable of." "[Fields is] doing a much better job after the catch," Elliott said, "of just running with a passion and a violence that we've been challenging him to do for his size." UVA graduate student safety Antonio Clary periodically matches up with Fields in practice, and that's no easy assignment. "Malachi can really do everything," Clary said. "He's a big guy, but he can move like a slot receiver. His hands are extremely strong, he's physical. He'll high point the football, and he'll go across the middle and catch it. "He'll do all the dirty work, blocking and everything. He's just an overall great receiver that does everything well. And when he's out there, he wants the ball. He has that alpha mentality." A graduate of nearby Monticello High School, Fields arrived at UVA in 2021 as an unheralded recruit. As a 12th-grader, he'd won the 500-meter run, finished second in the high jump and the shot put, and placed fifth in the long jump at the Virginia High School League's Class 3 indoor track & field meet, so his athletic ability was unquestioned. But he had no résumé as a wide receiver. At Monticello, Fields primarily played quarterback on offense. He rushed for 700 yards and 12 touchdowns and passed for 1,027 yards and 4 touchdowns as a junior in 2019. He wasn't projected as an FBS quarterback, but the Cavaliers' coaching staff, then led by Bronco Mendenhall, loved Fields' potential and believed he could be- come a productive wideout. Virginia offered him a scholarship, and he committed in March 2020. "It just felt like home," said Fields, who grew up in Keswick, in the eastern part of Albemarle County. "When the coaches were talking to me, they really cared about my future beyond football. So that just sold me." Fields proved to be a quick study at receiver. He played as a true first-year and acquitted himself well, catching 11 passes for 172 yards, including a 51-yarder in Vir- ginia's comeback win over Louisville. "I just expected to come in and learn ev- erything I could, try to be the best I could," Fields said, "and when the opportunity came, I stepped in and did my job." An injury limited him to one game in the Cavaliers' abbreviated 2022 season, but Fields caught 58 passes for 811 yards and 5 touchdowns last year. In a typical season, those numbers would have attracted more notice, but another UVA wideout, Malik Washington, finished with 110 receptions for 1,426 yards, both single-season pro- gram records, and 9 touchdowns in 2023. Washington now plays for the NFL's Miami Dolphins. "What Malik did was something that probably won't be done for a long, long time," Mims said. "Malachi had an incred- ible year last year, but he kind of got over- shadowed. In my opinion, he's an All-ACC, potential All-American receiver. "He honestly left some stuff out there, and he and I have talked about that. There were about two or three [passes] that he dropped, and I know that he wishes that he could have got them back." Elliott said Fields "was one of the better guys in the ACC [last year], and the challenge this offseason was for him to go make his stake as the best in the league." In UVA's season-opening win over Richmond at Scott Stadium, Fields made 5 catches for 100 yards, including a 41-yarder in which he laid out for the ball along the left sideline. Three days later, El- liott, a former Clemson offensive coordina- tor, was still marveling at Fields' catch. "I'll say I haven't seen a play like the one Malachi made, that diving play, since [Clem- son's] Mike Williams did it his freshman year against NC State," Elliott said during his weekly press conference. "Unbelievable, full extension play. It's wet. No gloves. That was a big-time play to be able to come down with that ball." The 100 yards receiving marked a career high for Fields, but that mark didn't last long. A week later, he caught a career-best 11 passes for 148 yards to help Virginia rally for a 31-30 win over ACC rival Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C. On the fourth-quarter drive that put the Hoos ahead, Fields twice snared fourth- down passes from second-year quarterback Anthony Colandrea. Neither catch was easy, but Fields' concentration never wavered. "We practice it every day," Fields said, "so I'm just trying to make it as routine as possible. You've got to go out there and ex- ecute. Don't make it bigger than it is." An American studies major, Fields is on track to graduate next spring. He grew up going to UVA games at Scott Stadium, and playing in his hometown has "just been awesome," he said. Fields was among the fans who rushed the field at Scott Stadium to celebrate UVA's 39-30 win over Virginia Tech in November 2019. Now he's on the receiving end of the Virginia faithful's support. Fields said he's " Malachi had an incredible year last year, but he kind of got overshadowed. In my opinion, he's an All-ACC, potential All-American receiver." UVA WIDE RECEIVERS COACH ADAM MIMS ON FIELDS