Small package, big results: This Savannah-area senior is a 140-pound football dynamo

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GUYTON – On a hot, humid morning, with dark clouds blocking the sun and filling the landscape, South Effingham’s Jamari Fields works out at fullback, then wingback, then wide receiver, then takes turns as a returner on special teams.

“It’s a lot of running,” says the 5-foot-6, 140-pound senior who prepares to shoulder a lot of the Mustangs’ offensive game plan this football season.

SEHS, 2-8 a year ago, will scrimmage Southeast Bulloch on Friday before opening the season on Aug. 19 at Vidalia.

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After seeing four practices a week throughout the summer and now a week in full pads, Mustangs coach Nathan Clark said getting the ball to Fields will be among the team’s priorities – particularly with the losses of Cameron Edwards and Joell Laldee to graduation.

Edwards, now at Savannah State, was the Region 2-6A Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for more than 1,000 yards last season. Laldee, the team’s leading pass receiver, is now at Reinhardt University.

Fields’ versatile skills and productivity will be sorely needed and he appears to be a custom fit as the team adds Wing-T concepts to the offense.

“Jamari will play a tremendous role for us,” Clark said. “As fast as he is, as quick as he is, and he can catch, we’ll play him all over the place,” Clark said. “He has elite speed and no one else on this team has that. We’ve even toyed with him on defense as a defensive back.”

What makes Fields so special?

With 4.4 40-yard dash speed, Fields has big-play ability in space and his power numbers (275 pounds in the bench press, 480 squat) suggest he’ll hold up on inside runs.

He is the team’s returning leader in all-purpose yards with 618.

“Being low to the ground, you don’t get hit too much,” Fields said. “(The Wing-T offense) is something we’re getting used to. I’ve never done it before, but I feel like with this offense we should be able to move the ball better than last year.

“My goals are team goals. We want to have a better record than last year and we want to make the playoffs.”

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Fields’ speed can turn small openings into big plays. Last season, he averaged 14.8 yards a touch. In the season-opener against Metter, he had a 70-yard touchdown reception and a 60-yard run. He returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score against Wayne County.

Fields, a sprinter on the track team, had Mustang bests in the 100-meter dash at 11.38 seconds and 200-meter dash at 23.24 seconds.

“The first time I ran track, I was just bored and thought I’d try it and I was pretty good,” he said.

'We have to find ways of getting him the ball ...'

Fields, who already has a football offer from Reinhardt University, showed he’s pretty good in several things on July 30 when he won the Mustangs’ annual Lift-a-thon – a six-event competition among the players which serves as a team fundraiser. Players earn points and SEHS football supporters pledge money in accordance with the players’ finishes.

Fans pledging money for Fields’ efforts are now a little lighter in the wallet after he scored 1,525 points. He won the 40-yard dash (on grass) with a time of 4.44 and topped his teammates with a 37-inch vertical jump. He was second in the pro shuttle, tied for second in the medicine ball event and tied for third with a 275-pound bench press.

“He’s an explosive player and he’s tough and he’s not afraid,” Clark said. “We have to find ways of getting him the ball, it’s that simple.”

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: South Effingham Jamari Fields is a 140-pound football dynamo