Tariq Castro-Fields’ NFL dreams came true on April 30 when the San Francisco 49ers selected him No. 221 overall in the 6th round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

With the 49ers, Castro-Fields will join place kicker Robbie Gould and defensive tackle Kevin Givens on the roster.

Over his five years at Penn State, Castro-Fields played in 50 games, starting 32 at cornerback for the Nittany Lions. He recorded 138 tackles and three interceptions throughout his career in Happy Valley.

As a true freshman, Castro-Fields saw playing time for Penn State immediately. He wasn’t the biggest defensive standout for the Nittany Lions during the 2017 season, as he recorded just 10 tackles, but he played in all but one of Penn State’s games. It took time, but Castro-Fields showed promise, making eight of his 10 tackles in the final three games of the season.

He made a leap heading into the 2018 season when he started three games and recorded 21 tackles. Heading into the 2019 season, Castro-Fields emerged as a team leader, playing in 12 games and recording 52 tackles to hold down Penn State’s secondary.

The 2020 campaign served as a setback for Castro-Fields, who started three games in the COVID-19-affected season before injury kept him out of the remainder of the year.

In 2021, Castro-Fields returned as a starter for the Nittany Lions, playing in all of Penn State’s games, outside of a 21-17 loss to Michigan. He made highlight plays in a win over Villanova when he slapped a wildcat pass out of the air to teammate Ji’Ayir Brown, who secured the interception. In total, Castro-Fields recorded 32 tackles and earned an All-Big Ten honorable mention nod from both coaches and media.