CHARLOTTESVILLE – When Virginia wide receiver Malachi Fields looks at teammate Jahmeer Carter, he is amazed at the personality change of the beefy defensive tackle on the football field.
“He’s a good guy, off the field he’s a quiet guy,” Fields said. “But when he’s on the field he’s a totally different guy. Guys don’t even want to go around him because he’s a mean guy on the field. I want to emulate that energy.”
Fields’ coaches want that from him, too. For UVA’s offense to take another step forward, Fields and running back Kobe Pace need to get rid of their nice guys as soon as the ball is snapped.
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This doesn’t require a Bruce Banner-style metamorphosis into the Incredible Hulk. Coaches and teammates just want to see the duo play with a little more grit to complement their considerable talent.
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“I believe I can bring that out of myself. It’s just a switch in my mindset,” Fields said. “I just need to flip the switch when I’m out there. Maybe I’ll ask Jah for some tips.”
Fields and Pace will get a lot of help from their coaches in that direction this season. With Malik Washington gone, Fields is the Cavaliers’ clear No. 1 wide receiver this training camp.
Pace, who transferred from Clemson before last season, is now expected to be the team’s every-down back after playing in a rotation with Mike Hollins and Perris Jones last season.
“I know what I have to do,” Pace said. “I see myself on film. I’m excited to get this season going and get the job done. That’s the mindset I have to go into work with every day. I just have to know I have it.”
Running backs coach Keith Gaither spent much of last season getting to know Pace, who UVa head coach Tony Elliott recruited and coached at Clemson.
Gaither said he knows who Pace is better now and the two have a closer relationship. Gaither understands that Pace, a fifth-year senior, is driven by the fact that this is his last season in college, his last chance to impress NFL scouts. He also said Pace is motivated to play for his mother.
“You take the opportunity to motivate him with your own words, with things he’s told me he wants to do,” Gaither said. “I’ve been handling him with rubber gloves. That’s over now. The gloves are off. Here we go. I think I’m going to approach him a little differently. I’m going to challenge him a little more, because that’s what he needs.”
In 2023, as part of a running back-by-committee approach, Pace ran 125 times, the most on his team, gaining 382 yards and scoring a touchdown. This year, he will likely be the lead wolf of a unit desperate to improve on its 117.9 rushing yards per game from last season, a mark that placed Virginia second to last in the ACC.
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Fields, on the other hand, had a highly productive 2023 season, finishing fourth in the conference in receiving yards per game. The 6’4″, 220-pound player received honorable mention All-ACC selection after catching 58 passes for 811 yards and five touchdowns.
But Fields had his big season in the shadow of slot receiver Malik Washington’s breakout year. The two formed an impressive tandem, but much of the attention and credit went to Washington, as did many of the throws.
Washington had 110 pass catches for 1,426 yards and nine touchdowns, all team highs.
Receiver coach Adam Mims believes Fields could be similarly dominant.
“It’s funny to me sometimes, frustrating. He’s really like a gentle giant,” Mims said. “He’s a phenomenal young man. He’s got the brightest smile. He never has a bad day. He’s such a good boy. There are moments when I say, ‘Look, man, when we cross that white line, I want you to flip the switch. I want you to act like a little bit of an asshole.'”
Elliott said Fields became a stronger leader in the offseason, taking control of the wide receivers through both words and actions.
“Sometimes when you look at Malachi, you see how big and strong he is, and you want to impose your own personality on him, the way you think his personality should be,” Elliott said. “He’s been productive. He’s made a lot of plays. But he’s a soft-spoken guy. … I’m excited to see him take that next step and really have the mindset to be a dominant player.”
It’s not just the coaches who are pushing Fields and Pace to play with some pressure to perform. Their teammates know these two will have to prove themselves as offensive stars if Virginia wants to finish better than the second-to-last spot they were predicted to finish in the ACC’s preseason poll.
“I always tell them they have to be more aggressive. And they understand that,” second-year quarterback Anthony Colandrea said. “Malachi is the nicest guy in the world, but sometimes he has to drop his shoulder and make a play. And the same goes for Kobe.”
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