Castro-Fields looks to rebound in the fall

Tariq Castro-Fields looked like one of the nation’s best cornerbacks in the first month of last season, breaking up passes and making stops in the running game.

Then in the first quarter against Purdue, Penn State’s fifth game of the year, he suffered an undisclosed injury to his arm or shoulder. He wasn’t the same player the rest of the way.

“Of course it was a frustrating process,” Castro-Fields said this week, “but the coaches had a plan for me and I tried to do the best I could.

“It was kind of frustrating, but Coach (James) Franklin preaches that you gotta do only what you can control. That was my main focus. I’m fully healthy now. I’m ready to go.”

Castro-Fields, a senior, is the Nittany Lions’ most experienced cornerback, a team leader and possibly a high draft pick next year, if he stays healthy and plays like he did early last season.

“I think I was just playing with a lot of confidence and being physical (then),” he said. “I thought I knew the defense really well, which allowed me to

play fast.”

Castro-Fields was a fourstar recruit from Upper Marlboro, Md., who chose the Nittany Lions over Maryland and Alabama. He played in 12 games as a true freshman in 2017 and in every game as a sophomore, when he made three starts and broke up eight passes.

He was on his way to a breakout season last year until he suffered the injury. He played well in a 28-21 victory over Michigan two weeks later, making eight tackles, an interception and a pass breakup, but his performance slipped after that.

In Penn State’s final six games, Castro-Fields broke up just two passes, both at Michigan State. He was held out of the regular season finale against Rutgers because of the injury and didn’t play well against Memphis in the Cotton Bowl.

“His season last year was almost like two different seasons,” Lions cornerback coach Terry Smith said last month. “The first half of the season, he came out of the gate looking like a first-round draft pick. He was playing very well.

“And then he suffered an injury. From that injury on, he was a different player. He wasn’t as confident and he wasn’t as sure of himself because of the injury.”

Smith said he expects Castro-Fields to be the leader among the cornerbacks, who include Donovan Johnson, who missed most of last season with a hand or wrist injury; sophomores Keaton Ellis and Marquis Wilson, who played well as reserves last season; and redshirt freshmen Daequan Hardy and Joey Porter Jr.

It’s hard to remember when Penn State was so deep at the position.

“I think the talent kind of is better now just across the board (than when he arrived),” Castro-Fields said. “I think everyone can compete, so I think it’s more about the kind of competition in the room that can raise everyone’s game.”

Ellis, Wilson, Hardy and Porter were part of the Lions’ recruiting class in 2019.

“Marquis is already a confident guy, so that little confidence (he got last year) is going to take his game to the next level,” Castro-Fields said. “Keaton is just all-around sturdy. He can do everything in my book. He plays the inside and outside.

“But that class overall with Daequan and Joey, they’re going to be nice. They’re going to be able to take over when I leave.”

Even though the media voted Casto-Fields to the AllBig Ten third team, he knows he can play much better. Smith said he expects him to be the shutdown cornerback that every team needs.

“I don’t really feel pressure,” Castro-Fields said. “If that’s my role, I’m going to capitalize on it. I think I am ready for it. I really know the defense. I’m able to play the field and the boundary (positions).”

Only six Penn State defensive backs have been taken in the second or third round of the NFL draft in the last 50 years. None has ever been selected in the first round. Can Castro-Fields make history?

“I don’t think I was aware of that,” he said. “I just think about putting in the work and approaching practice like it’s a game. I think everything will take care of itself at the end. That’s what I believe in.”