Brandon David Fields (born May 21, 1984) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a punter for nine seasons in the

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(NFL). He played

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for the Michigan State Spartans, earning consensus

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honors. He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL draft. He also played for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

Early life

Fields was born in

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Southfield borders Detroit to the north, roughly northwest of downtown Downtown Detroit, Detroit. As of the 2020 Uni ...

. He attended St. John's Jesuit High School in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

, and played for the St. John's Titans

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

team. During his senior season, he handled kickoff duties for the Titans football team and was a first-team all-state selection as a punter while also playing tight end. Fields also lettered in basketball for St. John's.

College career

Fields attended Michigan State University, and played for the Michigan State Spartans football team from 2003 to 2006. He earned numerous honors during his freshman season in 2003. He led the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

and was second in the nation with a 46.4-yard average. In a game against

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, Fields set an Alamo Bowl record with a 62-yard punt. Fields had the most productive season of his collegiate career as a sophomore in 2004, leading the nation with a 47.9-yard punting average. Honors on the season included numerous All-Big Ten and All-American selections. He was also a finalist for the Ray Guy Award, given annually to the nation's top punter. As a junior in 2005, Fields handled the kickoff duties for the first four games of the season in addition to being the team's punter. He wrapped up his collegiate career with a 45.0-yard punting average as a senior. On December 13, 2010, the Big Ten Conference instituted the Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year award to honor Fields and Thomas "Dike" Eddleman, Illinois punter from 1946 to 1948.

Awards and honors

During his collegiate career at Michigan State, Fields earned the following honors: Freshman (2003): * Mid-season SI.com All-American * Second-team coaches All-Big Ten * First-team media All-Big Ten * First-team ''

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'' Freshman All-American * Honorable mention Rivals.com All-American * Second-team ''Sporting News'' All-American Sophomore (2004): * Second-team coaches All-Big Ten * First-team media All-Big Ten * First-team AP All-American * First-team FWAA All-American * First-team Rivals.com All-American * First-team SI.com All-American * First-team Walter Camp All-American * Ray Guy Award finalist In addition to his football accolades, Fields was an Academic All-Big Ten selection each of his four years at Michigan State.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Prior to the 2007 NFL draft, Fields was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in

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. At his Pro Day in April, Fields measured in at 6-foot-4 7/8 and 236 pounds.

Miami Dolphins

Fields was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round (225th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft. The pick used to select Fields was acquired from the St. Louis Rams earlier in the offseason in exchange for punter Donnie Jones. Fields was the first punter drafted by the Dolphins since Brent Bartholomew in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and was the first rookie to handle punting duties for the team on a full-time basis since Reggie Roby in 1983. On May 24, the Dolphins signed Fields to a four-year contract. Fields handled punting duties for the Dolphins during all 16 games of his rookie season. His 77 punts averaged 43.2 yards in length, with 10 of them landing inside the opponent's 20-yard line. He also served as the holder on field goals and extra points. His gross average ranked seventh in the AFC and led all four rookie punters in the NFL that season and has improved in all facets of his game every season since. During the 2008 offseason, it was reported that new Dolphins Vice President Bill Parcells "absolutely loves Brandon Fields." The team did not pursue competition for him that offseason or since. On December 27, 2013, the NFL announced Fields as a selection for the 2014 Pro Bowl. Fields was released on September 1, 2015.

New Orleans Saints

Fields signed with the

on October 6, 2015, to replace Thomas Morstead while he recovered from a strained quadriceps. Fields played in two games, and was then released on October 20, 2015.

Retirement

On September 29, 2017, Fields announced his retirement from the NFL.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

His wife, Katie, whom he married during the 2008 offseason, earned her degree in chiropractic medicine at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Port Orange, Florida. He is part owner of Inside The Five Brewery in Sylvania, Ohio and Perrysburg, Ohio. In 2016, Fields earned a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree from the University of Miami Business School.

References

External links

*
Michigan State Spartans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fields, Brandon 1984 births Living people All-American college football players American football punters Miami Dolphins players Michigan State Spartans football players New Orleans Saints players Players of American football from Southfield, Michigan Players of American football from Toledo, Ohio Unconferenced Pro Bowl players University of Miami Business School alumni