University of Oklahoma Athletics

Pat Fields
Photo by: Ty Russell

Pat Fields Named Wuerffel Trophy Finalist

November 23, 2021 | Football

NORMAN — University of Oklahoma football defensive back Pat Fields has been named one of three finalists for the Wuerffel Trophy, which is presented to the FBS player who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.
 
Fields is joined as a finalist by Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean and Stanford quarterback Isaiah Sanders.
 
A fourth-year senior who is also a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy and a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year award, Fields has compiled a 3.82 GPA while simultaneously pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting and a master's degree in accounting. He is projected to complete both in December 2021.
 
A Tulsa, Okla., product, Fields has been a shining light when it comes to community activism, service and mentorship. He founded "Town Business," a financial literacy seminar that teaches high school football student-athletes about budgeting, money management, credit and personal branding. Along with other collegiate student-athletes and former NFL players, he conducted the first seminar in May in his hometown.
 
Fields also founded the Black Wall Street Scholarship, collaborating with the president of the OU National Black Alumni Association to establish an endowment with the purpose of providing scholarships for underrepresented and lower income students from Tulsa, and coordinated a back-to-school event and football camp in July for economically vulnerable elementary school students in his hometown. He has also spoken at local high schools and team camps from the spring and into the fall semester.
 
Fields was a 2020 second-team Academic All-America selection, is a two-time Academic All-District selection (2020-21), and is a three-time (2019-21) Academic All-Big 12 First Team honoree. He was a recipient of the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award, OU's Dan Gibbons Outstanding Scholar Athlete of the Year Award and the 2020 Cotton Bowl's Dan S. Petty Scholarship Award. He was also a Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominee and OU's nominee for the 2021 Big 12 Male Sportsperson of the Year award.
 
Twice elected as a team captain by his teammates (2020 and 2021), Fields completed a two-year term in the spring as one of two student-athletes nationally serving on the NCAA Division I Football Oversight and Competition Committee. He has worked as part of the leadership team of OU athletes that promoted social justice initiatives, voting education and registration and helped develop the Sooners for Humanity patch featured on all OU athletics uniforms for the 2020-21 athletics year.
 
In his third year as a starter at safety, Fields has played in 41 career games (35 starts) and has compiled 189 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 10 pass breakups and three interceptions. He is second on the team with his 67 tackles (41 solo) and has 4.5 TFLs and two interceptions through 11 games this season. In his final career home game on Saturday, he sealed OU's 28-21 win over Iowa State with an interception with 15 seconds remaining.
 
The formal announcement of the 2021 Wuerffel Trophy recipient will be made Dec. 9 on The Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN, and the presentation of the 2021 Wuerffel Trophy will occur on Feb. 25, 2022, at the 53rd All Sports Association Awards Banquet in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
 
Established in 2005, the Wuerffel Trophy honors college football players who serve others, celebrate their impact and inspire greater service in the world. A member of the National College Football Awards Association, the Wuerffel Trophy is presented annually to the FBS player who best combines exemplary community service with leadership achievement on and off the field. It is the first major award honoring the character of service to others.
 
Former Sooner centers Gabe Ikard (2013) and Ty Darlington (2015) are previous winners of the Wuerffel Trophy. Oklahoma is the only school with two Wuerffel Trophy winners.
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