UVA's Malachi Fields Draws Interest from Penn State and Notre Dame

Aidan Baller | 7 Hours Ago

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

After only a few days in the transfer portal, Malachi Fields has quickly drawn interest from some of the nation's top college football teams, with Notre Dame and Penn State emerging as two of the top suitors in the race for the star Virginia wide receiver. 

According to Malachi Fields player page on On3, Notre Dame and Penn State are listed as two possible locations for the Charlottesville native. 

Both schools could utilize Fields' abilities, as Notre Dame did not feature much of a passing attack in 2024, with no receiver recording more than 500 receiving yards. As for Penn State, they will lose star tight end Tyler Warren and need to surround Drew Allar with new targets for 2025. 

For a full list of potential landing spots for Fields: Potential Landing Spots for Former UVA Wide Receiver Malachi Fields

If Fields heads to Happy Valley, he will be reuniting with former Virginia star quarterback and then wide receivers coach Marques Hagans, who joined the Nittany Lions staff in 2023. Hagans served as a coach on the Virginia staff for 11 years, coaching and developing several of UVA's best wide receivers. He built a strong relationship with Fields, making this a good fit. 

Fields amassed 1,619 receiving yards and ten touchdowns over his final two seasons in Charlottesville. Fields departs the program with the 9th-most receiving yards (1,849), 11th-most receptions (129), and 19th-most receiving touchdowns (11). 

As a freshman, he recorded 11 catches for 172 yards before undergoing surgery to repair a broken metatarsal in his foot. This injury sidelined him for the majority of his sophomore season. Despite this, in the one game he played, Fields showed glimpses of star power with five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown against Pittsburgh.  

Fields came alive in his junior year alongside now-NFL wide receiver Malik Washington. That year, as the wide receiver two, Fields registered 58 catches for 811 yards and five touchdowns, including two touchdowns in the season's final game against Virginia Tech. In 2023, Fields finished eighth in the ACC in receiving yards. 

In 2024, the season started strong with wins over Richmond and Wake Forest, with Fields recording a combined 248 receiving yards in those first two games. Despite the strong start, Fields would only have one more 100+ receiving game the rest of the season (against Louisville). Further, Fields would register less than 50 yards in four of the last five games of the 2024 season, a potential contributing factor to his departure. 

Virginia has not played in a single bowl game in Fields' four years as a Hoo; transferring to a top-caliber program such as Notre Dame or Penn State allows Fields to have almost a guarantee of playing in a bowl game and a decent shot at being showcased in the coveted College Football Playoff. 

Keep track of all of UVA's transfer portal activity, including outgoing and incoming transfers, here: Virginia Football Transfer Portal Tracker

Stay up to date on all of the transfers who have received offers from Virginia or who have scheduled visits to UVA here: Tracking UVA Football's Offers and Visits in the Transfer Portal

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