Over the past two seasons, the 6-foot-3, 204-pound cornerback has had to adapt to becoming a role player. He's been the guy who takes that one extra rep in the weight room, one extra wind sprint on a hot afternoon, one extra rep on the scout team, refusing to come off the field.
It's a completely different world than when he was one of the top high school defensive backs in the state of Florida. But, for Fuller, it's a world that he's accepted and taken advantage of as a Blue Raider.
"As the years have gone on, I've tried my best to keep getting better," Fuller said. "When I was in high school, I was probably the best corner on the team. When I got to (MTSU), I was going up against guys like Mike Minter and Charvarius Ward, and my confidence wasn't the same. But, over the past few seasons, I know I've gotten a lot better, and that's the biggest thing. I just try to keep fighting the good fight, because at the end of the day, I never know when my number is going to be called."
If you pull Fuller's career numbers, you'll see he's taken the field 22 times for the Blue Raiders, earning his first two starts last season against WKU and Old Dominion. With seven career tackles and one pass defended, you'd be right to argue that those aren't eye-popping statistics.
If you look beyond the numbers, though, and peek behind the scenes, you will see the impact Fuller has had as a teammate, on special teams and his eagerness to continue moving up the ladder to increased field time.
"(Raheme) has to earn his spot," second-year cornerbacks coach Kenneth Gilstrap said. "He has the most experience, but he has some guys around him who are hungry. The thing that's good for him is he's been under the lights. As a young defensive back, that helps a lot as he begins to make his first few starts. He's accountable.
"Sometimes when things need to be communicated to others, you can communicate those things through him. He's intelligent and sets an example and maximizes his potential as both a young man and a football player."
Last season, Fuller made his second career start against arguably Conference USA's top receiver in WKU's Lucky Jackson. While Jackson had a good game, Fuller more than held his own. He had a career-best outing, collecting five tackles and a pass breakup while also forcing multiple incompletions on third down while covering Jackson.
While he's gone through some growing pains in his collegiate career, it was a game that opened Fuller's eyes and showed him he can still get the job done against some of the best that C-USA has to offer.
"Lining up against a guy as talented as Jackson built my confidence as the game went on," Fuller said. "He had one big catch against me early in the game, but after that, I was able to get on a roll and get some mojo back."
Fuller comes into the season as the most experienced corner on the roster as a redshirt junior, and he's looking forward to fighting it out for the top spot on the depth chart with a group of talented underclassmen.
He has some of MTSU's best corners of recent memory — current Kansas City Chief and Super Bowl champion Charvarius Ward, Mike Minter, Desmond Anderson and Chris Stamps, to name a few — to thank for helping show him how to have the proper dynamic with younger players.
"I want to personally mention Teldrick Ross, Decorian Patterson and Quincy Riley for helping me out with everything this offseason," Fuller said. "Coach Gilstrap always preaches how important it is to be brothers. Sometimes brothers don't always agree, but at the end of the day, we always know we'll have each other's back. They've helped me show some of the younger guys the right way of doing things."
Fuller knows he isn't going to be handed a starting spot this season. He's going to have to continue to fight, scratch and claw for everything. But, he believes in both football and in life, nothing worth having comes easy.
The redshirt junior has an opportunity to become the leader of the youngest position group on the squad. It's an opportunity he's eager to get out and work toward. Sure, it's a huge leap to try to go from a role player to being No. 1 on the depth chart, but if anybody has exhibited the body of work and proven he's earned everything he's gotten so far in his career, it's Fuller.
"When you have a lot of young guys that are eager to get better, they're always looking over their shoulder, and Raheme knows that," Gilstrap said. "He knows the best guys are going to get to play, so while he pushes himself, I know he'll also be pushing his teammates. That's important, because everyone will be pushing each other, and it's really exciting, because it's going to bring the best out of Raheme."
When you step into Floyd Stadium for the first time this fall, keep an eye out for the wiry cornerback wearing No. 15 in blue.
Fuller's worked so hard for over the past three years to become the best cornerback on the roster. It's the role that he committed to the blue and white for. When he trots onto the field for the first defensive series of the year, he'll strap his gloves up and get into position, ready to take on his biggest challenge yet as a Blue Raider.
Anthony Fiorella is a writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @a_fiorella74 and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
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July 23, 2020 at 05:04AM
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Fuller eager to fight for expanded role in 2020 - GoBlueRaiders.com
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