Philip Miller disputes speculative social media rumors following the Horned Frogs safety’s locker room dismissal, as the program cancels media availability amid reports of an alleged physical altercation.
Jacob Fields was supposed to be preparing for his first season as TCU's starting safety.
Instead, he's no longer part of the program.
And now his representation is pushing back on some of what's being said about the situation.
Fields' agent, Philip Miller, issued a statement addressing the safety's dismissal and disputed some of the discussion surrounding the situation, On3 reported.
“A significant portion of what has been shared on social media regarding this situation is false or purely speculative,” Miller said. “Jacob Fields and his immediate family have not nor will have any further comment on the situation.”
TCU removed Fields from its roster this week for a violation of team rules.
“Due to a violation of team rules, Jacob Fields has been removed from our roster and will not be a member of our football team moving forward,” TCU said in a statement.
His dismissal followed an alleged altercation with a teammate.
An incident report obtained by The Athletic stated that TCU's general manager told a responding officer about an assault that took place in the locker room on Aug. 13.
The report listed the offense as an alleged aggravated assault involving hands, feet or fists.
The victim's name was redacted, while the alleged assailant was not identified in the report. The Athletic reported that a source identified Fields as the alleged assailant.
Miller didn't address those specific allegations.
But he did offer some insight into where Fields stands with his former program.
“Jacob misses TCU, his teammates, coaches, and the relationship he built there,” Miller said. “He was a good student, a hard worker, and competitor who built many meaningful friendships during his time at TCU. He is grateful for the opportunity the university gave him.”
Miller added that while Fields was disappointed, he understood that “given the circumstances, it was in the best interest of all parties to move forward.”
“He respects that decision and wishes his teammates and the TCU program nothing but success,” Miller said.
And anyone hoping to hear more from Sonny Dykes on Friday morning will have to wait.
Dykes was scheduled to speak with reporters, but TCU announced Thursday night that practice would no longer be open to the media.
Eventually, the conversation in Fort Worth will have to shift back toward football.
And Fields' absence leaves TCU with a pretty important question to answer.
Fields joined the Horned Frogs this year after spending the previous three seasons at Louisiana Tech and was projected to be TCU's starting safety.
He started all 12 games for Louisiana Tech last season, recording 92 tackles, three interceptions and five pass breakups while earning Conference USA Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors.
That's a lot of production TCU expected to plug directly into its secondary.
Now it won't get the chance.
Whatever comes next for Fields, Dykes and the Horned Frogs have a much more immediate concern: they need a new starting safety.
