As a junior defensive back who’s played 21 games in maroon and gold, Evan Fields will be one of the experienced vets in a secondary group characterized by youth. In fact, he’s one of four players in the unit that played in at least ten games for ASU before Herm Edwards arrived.

However, defensive back is one of, if not the position that will be most strengthened by the incoming recruiting class, casting a cloud of uncertainty over Fields’ snap count going forward.

While he stated that he doesn’t feel increased pressure due to the incoming freshmen, he acknowledged their depth at the position, even in Spring ball, makes them feel a certain responsibility to perform well.

“We have more people than other positions,” Fields said. “I feel like this Spring ball we’ve kind of taken the mentality that we’ve got to kind of lead, especially since we have more bodies, play as hard as we can each play.”

Fields stated that not everybody does a lot of talking when it comes to leadership, but cited the increased level of competitiveness under the new coaching as a reason for the increase in quality of performance.

“Since my freshman year (in 2017) the coaching change has for sure changed competition,” Fields said. “It’s for sure gone up since the coaching change, and I like it because competition makes everybody better.”

While Fields could be competing just to get snaps on gameday, he knows what strengths he brings to the table that have gotten him on the field to this point in his college career.

“I feel like I have pretty good range,” Fields said. “My range is good, especially these past few days playing at the ranger position, I’ve been able to show that, and my man coverage- in high school that’s the scheme I played in, we played a lot of man (defense) so that too, and hitting, I like to hit.”

Additionally, Fields wants to approach this season with a strong mindset, especially considering he’s still finding his role within the unit.

“My main goal is just maximizing my potential,” Fields said. “I feel like I have pretty good athleticism and stuff, and being more knowledgeable- just being more confident on the field, because the more you know the more confident you are.”

As someone who finished high school with a 3.9 GPA, the junior from Oklahoma City certainly embodies the “knowledge is power” mantra that coach Edwards emphasizes with the team.

Also, much like his teammates, he willingly offers insight into what makes Edwards and his staff effective teachers of the game.

“Everything is more broken down,” Fields said. “Whenever I ask a question, they really answer it to the fullest. Whenever I don’t understand something, they make sure I understand it.”

One of the unique ways in which Edwards is able to do this is by being an active coach. In other words, he is constantly demonstrating what he wants his defensive backs to do, adding a visual learning element to practices.

“I’ve had other coaches do that to an extent, but coach Herm he helps a lot,” Fields said, “because demonstrating (as opposed to) saying something helps a lot more, so I really appreciate that part about him.”

“If I see something, I’m like ‘ok, I can do that.’ Hearing it, it can kind of get lost in your brain.”

Even though it seems like Edwards is a de facto defensive backs coach at times, Fields doesn’t see that getting in the way of defensive backs’ coach Tony White doing his job, saying that the duo complements each other well.

“They have their own meetings…everything is like an agenda,” Fields said. “I feel like they write a lot of stuff down and they make like focus points and I feel like when we get into practice, they all make sure we emphasize that.”

On top of the detailed instruction from multiple coaches, Fields believes that being in coach Gonzales’ scheme for a second year will benefit him due to the increased familiarity with the coach’s tendencies.

“I learned a lot about his scheme- last year being the first year,” Fields said. “But now that it’s the second year, it feels like closer to- I want it to feel like it’s the back of my hand, and it’s getting closer and closer to that.”

As Spring continues, every practice will be increasingly important for Fields to find his way into the gameday rotation. But no matter how it turns out, the junior provides invaluable leadership- albeit by example- to a burgeoning secondary under the second-year coaching staff.