Sam Shields’ focus back on football

CORAL GABLES _ At first, former UM cornerback Sam Shields thought he was headed for yet another setback.

Last month he was arrested for marijuana possession in Sarasota, his hometown. It happened at the worst possible time because Shields was preparing for a potential shot at the NFL. A character flaw could knock him from being a possible late-round pick to the free-agent ranks.
“I was a little worried, all the way up to the court date,” Shields said. “My hands were sweating, but everything came out great.”

The charges were recently dropped, and cleared from his record. It’s allowed Shields to once again focus on the task at hand, and that’s continuing to impress NFL scouts. He did just that last month at UM’s Pro Timing Day, according the NFL.com’s Gil Brandt. He said Shields had an “incredible workout,” and worked his way into draft consideration. 

According to Brandt, Shields ran the 40 in 4.30 and 4.33, had a 39-inch vertical jump, an 11-1 broad jump, a 4.19 short shuttle, a 6.79 three-cone drill and did 15 bench press reps.

Surprisingly, Shields said the legal issues somewhat helped him focus during that week. He refused to speak with reporters afterward, knowing most of the questions would have been about his arrest.

“As far as what happened, that helped me because one of my biggest things was just being focused,” Shields said. “I was focused on what I was supposed to and not on other things.”

Shields said teams have shown interest in him playing cornerback, but most are likely to use him on special teams.

“I haven’t been asking teams (where they’ll draft him),” Shields said. “I know they would tell me if I asked, but I don’t even worry about it. When you worry about it, that’s when bad things start to happen.”



(sun-sentinel.com)