Former Virginia Football WR Malachi Fields Named a Top Newcomer by ESPN

Virginia Football's loss is Notre Dame's gain. The Cavaliers lost leading receiver Malachi Fields to the transfer portal and the Fighting Irish wasted no time in getting the him to South Bend. Fields will be a top target for young quarterback CJ Carr as the Fighting Irish hope to make it back to the College Football Playoff. In a recent ranking of the top 100 impact transfers for this season from ESPN, Fields was rated No. 42 overall:

HT: 6-4 | WT: 220 | Class: Redshirt junior

Background: "Fields is an exceptional athlete with excellent size and production. He put up 1,619 receiving yards over the past two seasons -- third-most in the ACC -- and 10 TDs on 113 receptions over the past two seasons and picked up third-team all-conference recognition in 2024 after another 800-yard season."

Scout's take: "Fields has an NFL blend of size, athleticism and ball skills. He also has very good production. The former high school quarterback has great awareness skills on the football field. He's a polished, savvy route runner who knows how to attack leverage and work for positioning. His pure separation burst is good but not great. He wins one-on-one matchups more with his physical strength and positioning than his speed. Fields makes the difficult grabs look easy and dominates the 50-50 ball."

What he brings to Notre Dame: "The Fighting Irish did not produce a 500-yard receiver through their first 15 games in 2024. Riley Leonard did a nice job of spreading the targets around, but Fields should have an opportunity to be a true No. 1 receiver for Notre Dame's next starting QB. He'll be eager to join a playoff-caliber roster and help elevate their passing attack"

How will UVA try and replace Fields?

Looking at who is gone from last season, Fields, Chris Tyree (NFL), Jaden Gibson (Portal), JR Wilson (Portal), Titus Ivy (Portal), KJ Bratton (Portal), and Ethan Davies (Portal) are all gone. That is the leading receiver along with some key depth guys. Virginia has had to build the room up during the winter and spring portal windows.

Let's talk about who is back from last season.

Trell Harris was the third leading receiver last season for UVA behind Fields and tight end Tyler Neville (NFL), totaling 15 catches for 221 yards and two touchdowns, while averaging 14. 7 yards per catch. Harris is going to be counted on quite a bit, but so will Kam Courtney. Courtney left spring as a projected starter after totaling 12 catches for 114 yards last season while finishing with a 64.5 PFF (Pro Football Focus) grade in 170 snaps.

Andre Greene Jr is still going to factor into the rotation this season. Greene caught nine passes for 74 yards last season and finishing with a poor 53.9 overall grade on PFF in over 350 snaps on offense last season. Can Greene step up his production now that more snaps are going to be available? The same could be said for Suderian Harrison, who had a similar statline as Greene. Harrison caught 11 passes for 99 yards last season, but I would bet on that improving this season. Harrison finished with a 59.2 overall PFF grade last season in 135 snaps.

While Fields ended up at Notre Dame, the Cavaliers got a "trade" of some sort when they landed former Notre Dame wide receiver Jayden Thomas in the portal. Thomas caught 64 passes for 838 yards in three seasons with the Fighting Irish and will be fighting for a spot for a spot in the rotation. I project him to be a direct backup to start the season. Thomas was a three-star transfer prospect according to 247Sports.

Cam Ross is an experienced wide receiver who has played at both UConn and James Madison and will look to have a spot with the Cavaliers. In his career (four years at UConn and one at James Madison), Ross has totaled 151 catches for 1,799 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 11.9 yards per catch. This past season with the Dukes, Ross caught 37 passes for 443 yards and three touchdowns. According to Pro Football Focus, Ross played 710 snaps this past season at James Madison and finished with a 57.2 grade.

The big acquisition from the portal is four-star transfer Jahmal Edrine from Purdue. Across three seasons with FAU and Purdue, Edrine has totaled 63 catches for 944 yards and eight touchdowns. It feels like Edrine is going to be a starter with this group, but we will see what the fall brings.

Could freshmen like Josiah Abdullah or Dillon Newton-Short find a way on the field this fall? Abdullah had a really good spring and has the talent, but finding a way on the field as a first-year player can be tough.