Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 27, 2025 17 And when they do, Notre Dame will stack victories. That's all Fields really wants anyway. "The ultimate goal is to get a win," he said. In Fields, his coaches see a winner. "He's obviously extremely talented, a guy that we've identified that we have to find ways to get the ball into his hands," Freeman said, "or at least attempt to throw the ball his way because he's re- ally good. A lot of times, he's going to make that play." " W h a t d o n 't yo u l i ke ? " No t re Dame quarterbacks coach Gino Gui- dugli added. "The guy's 6-foot-4, 220 pounds. He can run. He's a mismatch. You get him over the boundary, where you're getting one-on-one a lot. … Just give that guy a chance. Good things are going to happen." Fields was targeted 11 times and had 5 catches for 77 yards against Texas A&M. Again, that's a clip the Irish believe will teeter more on the plus side of 50 per- cent when Carr and his go-to wideout are better acclimated with each other as the season goes along. But even in the early going, Fields feels comfortable with his signal-caller. Within the offense. Where his feet are. Notre Dame is different, after all. Win or lose. "Just being at a university like this and then going out and playing, just know- ing at the end of the day, it's an audience of one and no matter what, you're good in the eyes of God," Fields said. 'A SPECIAL, SPECIAL PLACE' Fields wasn't raised Catholic, but he's always been a devout Christian. Trans- ferring to Notre Dame was mostly about the relationships he built with coaches and players during his recruiting visit, but he's fit right in with everyone at the university from a religious perspective as well. That goes a long way in making a one-year stay as a student-athlete as enjoyable as possible. South Bend feels like home to Fields. Fellow transfers and believers Elijah Hughes and Will Paul- ing have helped make it feel that way — have helped make it feel like where Fields grew up in Monticello, Va. "Mom and Dad instilled that in me — the faith life and just believing that you're God's child no matter what," Fields said. Notre Dame wide receivers coach Mike Brown helps make it feel like home, too. He's from the same home- town as Fields, in fact. Fields met him seven or eight years ago at a prospects camp Brown was helping conduct in Monticello. The two have seamlessly made a great pair in their time working together so far this year. "He just does a good job of challeng- ing me, telling me that there's always something to work on, always ways to get better," Fields said. "Malachi has been great. He's been really, really, really good for us," Brown added. "Obviously as a player, he is who he is. He's going to be a really good player for us. But above that he's done a good job just leading, bringing the younger guys along. … He just brings an extra boost of confidence to the room." He definitely brings an extra boost of confidence to Carr, even if only 8 of 14 targets were reeled in for receptions by Fields in Notre Dame's first two games. That was the third-lowest competition rate among the nine Irish players who registered at least one target in that span. The total number of 14, a team high through two games, is a better indicator of what Notre Dame has in Fields than the 57.1 percent target-to-catch ratio, however. Per Pro Football Focus, none of the six incomplete passes on throws to Fields were dropped by him. They were either missed attempts by Carr or plays made by the defense. Admittedly, on at least one of them, Fields said there were "things [he] would've changed, for sure." That was in reference to the third-and-goal from the Texas A&M 4-yard line on which Carr tried to connect with Fields on a slant. An Aggie corner got his hands on the ball, but so did Fields. He probably could've caught it. Instead, it fell to the turf. Notre Dame settled for a field goal. The belief is the more times Carr goes in his direction, he will catch it. And the Irish offense will be better for it. That's the way you should feel about a WR1 with a skill set as versatile as Fields'. "Malachi is a freaking stud," Carr said. "We found that out a little bit in Miami. He's been making plays all over the field. I just have to continue to give him a chance." There's nowhere else Fields would rather be getting those chances than where he is now. No matter what hap- pens between September and January, Fields will always know he chose the correct school out of the transfer portal. "It's just special, man, coming in every day to a brotherhood," Fields said. "Ev- erybody loves each other, everybody wants to get to work, everybody's pushing each other every day. Sparks fly on the field, of- fense vs. defense, but when we go into the locker room, everybody's brothers again. So, it's just been a special, special place." ✦ "Malachi is a freaking stud. We found that out a little bit in Miami. He's been making plays all over the field. I just have to continue to give him a chance." IRISH QUARTERBACK CJ CARR ON FIELDS Fields caught 8 passes on 14 targets for 125 yards in the Irish's first two games, which were all team highs among wide receivers. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP