Malachi Fields is headed to South Bend. Former Virginia wide receiver and Charlottesville native Malachi Fields announced his commitment to Notre Dame in an Instagram post on Monday afternoon.
It was previously reported that the top two contenders for Fields in the transfer portal were Notre Dame and Penn State, two teams who both not only participated in the first round of the College Football Playoff this past weekend, but crushed their respective opponents to advance to the CFP quarterfinals. The opportunity to play for a top-tier national title contender and have the spotlight that comes with it in order to increase his stock for the NFL Draft was certainly a consideration for Fields as he decided to enter the portal after his senior season in Charlottesville.
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.
It was previously reported that Fields was still considering a return to UVA in 2025, but with offers from premier programs like Notre Dame and Penn State on the table, along with what we can only assume was significant NIL considerations, it was difficult to imagine Fields returning to the Cavaliers next season. With Fields officially headed to Notre Dame, the UVA wide receiver unit is expected to return Trell Harris, Suderian Harrison, Kam Courtney, and Andre Greene Jr. Virginia has already made one move to reinforce that unit, bringing in Purdue wide receiver transfer Jahmal Edrine a few days ago. New UVA quarterback Chandler Morris should still have some good weapons at his disposal in 2025.
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