South Carolina State University football is hoping to wipe last year’s slate clean, and much of it lies on the shoulders of Corey Fields.
The senior quarterback may be the most important player returning for the 2021 MEAC and HBCU national champions. He’s looking the part as he threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first intra-squad scrimmage of fall camp for South Carolina State.
“As an offense, we were able to fly around with the football,” Fields told The Times and Democrat. “We had some mistakes, some fumbles, but overall it was a good day. I know what (Coach) Pough expects of me and how he wants the offense to go. My focus is to get everyone on the same page.”
Getting everyone on the same page was an issue last season for Fields and the SC State offense. He completed a career-low 45.2 percent of his passes last season, throwing for just over 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns as the team fell from 7-5 in 2022 to 3-8. And that was with an All-American talent at receiver in Shaq Davis.
The 2023 season will feature Fields and the offense working under the direction of a different offensive coordinator in Kevin Magouirk. The South Carolina grad previously served in that role when Malcolm Long set many of the school’s passing records over a decade ago.
“(Corey) has done a great job of adapting and picking up what we’re doing (on offense),” SC State offensive coordinator Kevin Magouirk said. “He’s got that ‘it’ factor where guys gravitate toward him, and want to follow him.”
It’s not just Fields’ teammates that believe in him. South Carolina State University head coach Buddy Pough believes in his quarterback and his ability to lead the team back to a championship-caliber unit.
“Corey is the guy that puts the offense on track,” Pough said. “He knows what he’s doing, and gives us an opportunity to have a shot at winning. It’s a pleasure having a grown up in charge.”