Horatio Fields has a lot of experience as a college football player. During his junior season at Wake Forest in 2024, the receiver caught 39 passes for 463 yards and four touchdowns.
Now firmly entrenched in Auburn's wide receiver rotation, the Douglasville, Ga., native has taken over a new role: leader.
"Number one, he's become the leader of that room, believe it or not," Hugh Freeze said. "He's the father figure in that room, the old guys, and he speaks great wisdom to all of that room. We voted on captains yesterday, and he received quite a few votes, and that's pretty special for a receiver that's come in."
Fields, named one of the three starters at his position for the Tigers, has great length and ball skills for a receiver. At 6-foot-3, he's also a matchup problem for opposing cornerbacks and safeties. His best game last season came against a talented Duke defense when Fields caught six passes for 84 yards and a touchdown.
"His football IQ is really high, can learn different positions, allows us to go some different personnel groupings that he can handle," Freeze said. "And so we're really pleased with his camp for sure."
Fields joins Eric Singleton Jr. as key transfers to the Auburn wide receiving room that already included Cam Coleman, Malcolm Simmons, Perry Thompson and Bryce Cain. The Auburn coach knows what each is capable of, but has seen the brilliance from Fields that makes him expect even more once the Tigers take the field on Friday evening against Baylor.
"You see his route running, and you're like 'Man, we've hit on another one,'" the Auburn coach said. "This guy's a solid, solid player and does a lot for us."
Auburn and Baylor battle it out on Friday at 7 p.m. CT on FOX.