Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/413403
BY DOUGLAS FARMER A bove all else, Will Fuller cred- its one thing for his success this season: practice. To call this a breakout season for the sophomore wide receiver would be understating that fact by at least 75 yards — the length of his first touch- down catch this season, which came in the first quarter of the season's first game. That touchdown, one of Fuller's nine through eight games, kick-started him to lead Notre Dame's receivers in all categories. During Notre Dame's 7-1 start, he emerged as senior quarterback Everett Golson's favorite target, with 46 receptions for 599 yards (13.0 yards per catch). To Fuller, that first touchdown, the 45 grabs that followed and his entire revelatory campaign began in practice. "You've got to practice well all the time to perform well on Saturday," he said. "You can't just go out there and perform on Saturday." Fuller, however, did not fully em- brace that mentality last year or even during the beginning of this season. Even if Irish offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock first saw the then-freshman stepping forward in spring practices, the Philadelphia native did not step up his preparation until a few weeks into the 2014 campaign. "After the Michigan game, I'm still standing at the end of the line, letting people get in front of me," Fuller said. "I got yelled at a couple times for do- ing that. It's just a mentality that you're becoming a leader and can't do things like that." Fuller has scored more touchdowns than any other three Notre Dame re- ceivers combined. He also has 17 more receptions and 206 more receiving yards than sophomore wide receiver Corey Robinson, who ranks second on the team in both categories. Yet, at least leading up to the Arizona State contest, Irish head coach Brian Kelly wanted more out of the blossom- ing go-to receiver. Fuller's excellent sea- son has kept sophomore Torii Hunter Jr. on the sideline for most of the cam- paign. The Notre Dame staff has raved about Hunter for two years now, but he still rarely sees the field. Kelly said if Fuller backslides into bad practice habits, that might change. PUT INTO PRACTICE Will Fuller saw an opportunity, and has made the most of that chance