Former TCU pass rusher Devonte Fields was the AP Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2012.
The TCU Horned Frogs are less than 100 days from kicking off the 2025 football season with a nonconference road matchup against the North Carolina Tar Heels and new head coach Bill Belichick. As we count down the days until kickoff, we’ll highlight a former (or current) Horned Frog whose jersey number represents the number of days left until the opener.
Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images
95 – Devonte Fields (Defensive End – 2012-13)
Perhaps one of the biggest “what-if” stories of the early Gary Patterson-Big 12 era, Fields dominated throughout the 2012 season, registering 53 total tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. Fields, who was named the AP Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, started all 13 games and finished with four pass breakups, two two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception during his freshman season.
Fields returned in 2013, but was limited to three games due to injuries and a suspension for off-the-field issues. In August 2014, ESPN reported that Fields was permanently separated from the university after he surrendered to authorities on a misdemeanor assault warrant. Fields went to Trinity Valley Communiy College and played in 2014 before he revived his career at Louisville, where he recorded 17 sacks over the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
Fields went undrafted and signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. He was released in 2018.