While he’s been a constant on the field for the Sooners over the years, Pat Fields has been just as remarkable off of it. Fresh off the press, Fields was nominated as a finalist for the prestigious Wuerffel Trophy, an award celebrating the FBS player who balances exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement. Nakobe Dean, a junior linebacker from the No. 1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs and Isaiah Sanders, a senior quarterback from Stanford join him as finalists.
Fields is a fourth-year senior safety from Tulsa, OK who has been a consistent and integral player in the Sooners’ defensive reimagining dubbed “Speed D.” When he’s not coming up making plays in the backfield, intercepting passes, or returning blocked kicks for points, he’s compiling a 3.82 GPA while pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting and a master’s degree in accounting. According to the official athletic website of the Sooners, both degrees project to be completed by December 2021.
His notable efforts with community service include the founding of “Town Business,” a financial literacy seminar. The seminar focuses heavily on teaching high school football student-athletes about budgeting, money management, credit, and personal branding. He enlisted the help of other notable college athletes, as well as current and former NFL players to help him.
His efforts mean so much to the area of Tulsa. Tulsa has seen a boom in the quality of athletes that are being produced there as they’ve produced high-level, professional-caliber athletes, for a while now. Look no further than former Sooner cornerback Tre Brown, who is contributing as a rookie for the Seattle Seahawks.
In addition to the seminar, he has started the Black Wall Street Scholarship. In collaboration with the president of the OU National Black Alumni Association, Black Wall Street provides scholarships for minority, underrepresented, and lower-income students from his hometown of Tulsa looking to come to Oklahoma while also hosting free football camps during the spring and summer.
His academic achievements include multiple Academic All-District selections (2020-21) and three Academic All-Big 12 First Team selections. He’s received multiple Scholar of the Year awards as well.
Most will only see him as the two-time captain, a three-year starter at safety with 189 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 10 pass breakups, and three interceptions on his ledger. Currently, he sits second on the team with 67 tackles, has 4.5 TFLs and two interceptions through 11 games this season.
The winner of the 2021 Wuerffel Trophy will be announced Dec. 9 on The Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN, a televised event that wraps up award season for college football, while the actual presentation of the trophy takes place on Feb. 25, 2022, at the 53rd All Sports Association Awards Banquet in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
As Fields potentially nears the end of his career as a homegrown Oklahoma Sooner in the next few weeks, regardless of how these next few weeks go, he will leave an incredible ambassador for his community, school, and his family on top of being an excellent ballplayer that helped bring respect back to the Oklahoma defense.
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