Joe Fields
Quarterback, 6-2, 185
Houston, TX (Washington HS)
On being at Syracuse:
“The people here are great. There’s a lot of academic support, which is great because it’s hard going right from high school to college. As far as football goes, the coaches and players are great, too. They’re helping me get my feet wet, so I’ll be ready in the fall.”
On the offseason program:
“We lift weights every day and we started agilities on Monday. I feel like I’m getting stronger, but I feel my conditioning needs to catch up with my strength and I’m sure it will as I go along.”
On signing day:
“It makes me feel good because it makes me feel like I want to be a part of a dynasty and I think with the players we signed today we have an opportunity to do that.”
On why he chose Syracuse:
“My main focus was to get a great education and play football. Syracuse gave me the opportunity to do that. I feel I’m missing out on a lot of things (in high school), but in the long run I feel like things will work better for me.”
On the difficulty of deciding to come to Syracuse:
“The decision to come to SU was an easy decision because the coaches are great and they presented me with a great opportunity. As far as coming early, that was kind of hard because I had to leave all my friends early. Like Coach (Pasqualoni) said, when you know all your friends are at home relaxing, and you have obligations to fulfill.”
On the chance to be the starting quarterback next season:
“I wanted to come to a place where I had a chance to compete. I don’t want to sit on the bench. I want to compete right away with the guys here and I feel like I have a chance to do that.
On Syracuse’s 2004 non-conference schedule:
“It’s pretty tough. But if we work hard during conditioning and work as hard as we can and do what we need to do, winning will take care of itself.”
On the advantages of attending Syracuse early:
“The advantage is that I get a chance to grasp the educational aspect of being in college, so it won’t be foreign to me to we when I’m in camp and trying to concentrate more on football. I get the chance to condition with the guys who are already here, get to know the players. If you want to compete for a starting job, the players have to be able to believe in a freshman quarterback. They get a chance to see my work ethic and my passion for the game. I think that will really help.”
On being the only quarterback in this year’s class:
“It speaks volumes because it shows that they (the coaches) were honest with me. That’s the most important thing. They told me I was the quarterback they wanted and they backed up their word.”
