Converted USC Tailback Finds New Dream on Defense

Like every athlete, Scott Fields dreamed.

He dreamed of going to USC and becoming the fifth Trojan tailback to win the Heisman Trophy.

It was a good dream.

And who would say his was an impossible dream?

He was an All-American at La Puente Bishop Amat, where he averaged 6.5 yards a carry his senior year.

He had speed, size and a belief that he was a young man of destiny, that somewhere out there was a Heisman Trophy display case with his name on it.

And then the dream began to die.

It started coming apart in the first half of the 1993 season, shortly after Fields had been given the chance he wanted.

He had started the season as a backup sophomore tailback, behind starter Dwight McFadden. In the opening-game loss to North Carolina, McFadden suffered a broken ankle in the first quarter.

Enter Fields.

He ran well, with a slashing, charging style that reminded some of Marcus Allen.

But there was a problem.

Fumbles.

They became unacceptably frequent, and Fields became a backup again.

Two days after the regular season, Fields was called to see Coach John Robinson.

“He told me he had a choice for me,” Fields said.

“He said I could stay at running back, but he couldn’t guarantee me playing time. But he said if I agreed to move to (defensive back), I would get much more playing time.

“I said, ‘Fine, that’s what I want to do. I want to play.’

“He said he thought I could be a good safety, with a lot of work, and he pointed out only two safeties would be coming back for this season, Micah Phillips and Sammy Knight.”

And so Fields played in USC’s defensive backfield in last season’s Freedom Bowl victory over Utah. And he has been a kind of co-starter with Knight this season at strong safety.

Fields’ older brother, Arby, says Scott called him after the meeting with Robinson.

“It was a blow to Scott, frankly,” Arby Fields said.

“Scott went to USC to win the Heisman. He told me of the choice Robinson had given him, and what his decision was. I think his first reaction was, ‘Did I fail?’

“We talked a lot that night, and I think he came away with a very good attitude, starting that night.

“I told him, ‘Look, you’ve got a lot going for you. You’re on the USC football team, for one thing. How many guys can say that? Now you can either sulk, or get your head up and be successful.’

“He’s still learning (to play safety), and his athletic ability will carry him a long way. And so will his attitude.”

Fields’ position coach, Keith Burns, used that same word in talking about Fields.

“When Scott decided to come over to (defense), I didn’t know what his attitude would be,” Burns said. “I didn’t know if his disappointment at the move would affect his performance.

“It hasn’t. He’s been great--he’s working extremely hard to become an outstanding safety. It’s a tough position to play because any mistake you make out there is magnified. Everyone sees it.

“Scott made two mistakes in the Oregon game, and one resulted in a 50-yard touchdown run when he missed a tackle near the line of scrimmage. The other was when he committed pass interference on a play when he was late getting to the deep middle.

“At safety, if you miss a tackle or muff an assignment, usually no one’s backing you up. A defensive lineman has a linebacker backing him up, and a linebacker has secondary people behind him. There’s no one behind the safeties.”

Fields, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound junior, is still listed as USC’s backup strong safety, behind Knight, a 6-1, 195-pound sophomore. But they have roughly split playing time.

“Scott is still learning to read keys, before and after the snap,” Burns said.

“He’s picked it up a little faster than I expected. A good safety man really has to believe in his instincts, and Scott will get there with more playing time.”

In the 22-7 loss to Oregon, Fields had three unassisted tackles, a pass interception and a pass breakup. Against Oregon State’s wishbone last Saturday, in a 27-19 victory, he was an outside linebacker.

Fields has an edge in his hurry-up safety schooling, Burns said.

“In practice every day, he has pretty good quarterbacks to look at in Rob Johnson and Brad Otton, good wide receivers in Keyshawn Johnson and Ken Grace, and a great group of tight ends. So he’s getting a good picture, every day.”

He’ll get a good picture Saturday, too--of Steve Stenstrom, the Stanford quarterback who leads the Pacific 10 Conference in passing efficiency and has passed nearly 200 times in five games.

Fields sees that as a challenge, not a threat.

“That means more (interceptions), hopefully,” he said.

The Heisman dream is part of his past now, and a new dream unfolds.

“My goal is to win the Jim Thorpe Award (awarded to the nation’s best defensive back),” he said. Only one Trojan has won that, Mark Carrier, in 1989.

Fields says changing positions was difficult only in the early going.

“It was hard at first--all my life I’d been a running back and I’d always wanted to win the Heisman at SC and be a running back in the NFL. And to see that dream fade, well, I decided I needed new goals.”

Fields said he realized after the conversation with Robinson that he was first and foremost a football player.

“I wasn’t starting at tailback and I wasn’t happy at that,” he said. “I wanted to play in any position where I’d be more involved with the football team, to be a contributor to our winning championships.”

His challenge now, he says, is one of the most demanding in sports.

“Covering a fast guy one-on-one, it’s really hard,” he said. “It’s a lot like basketball, guarding a great player, getting through picks and screens.”