Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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rotation at the slot position between senior Amir Carlisle and junior C.J. Pro- sise, as well as a reliable duo on the out- side with junior Chris Brown spelling Robinson. That left Fuller on his own. Hunter, they thought, could give the slight workhorse some time to catch his breath. Hunter 's four catches for 44 yards and a touchdown this season in- dicate otherwise. "There's lone wolf Will out there taking all the snaps, so I kind of stuck [Hunter] out there," Denbrock said. "… But every time I try to take [Fuller] out, I've got my finger on the call sheet on a play I'd like to run, and I'd certainly like him to be involved in it." So Fuller remains in the game, in- volved in the play, continuing to lead Notre Dame despite his once lax prac- tice habits. Fuller caught six passes for 160 yards and a score in his freshman season, buried on the depth chart be- cause of the talent ahead of him, his practice methods and his small stat- ure. Notre Dame's top three receivers from last year — TJ Jones (graduation), DaVaris Daniels (academic dishonesty investigation) and Troy Niklas (early NFL Draft entry) — are all gone this year, however, creating an opportunity for Fuller and company in 2014. Fuller estimates he enrolled at Notre Dame weighing all of 164 pounds. Now, the Irish depth chart lists him at 180, though he puts it more accurately around 173-176 pounds. The figure re- mains his offseason goal. "That's the most I've ever weighed my whole life," Fuller said. "… In high school, I was never really comfortable with being in the open field. Like punt return, I was never comfortable catch- ing punts or anything like that. I don't know where it came from, but now I'm getting a lot more comfortable [in the open field]." That open-field willingness fits well with Fuller 's speed. Brown may dis- pute it, but Robinson says Fuller is the fastest player in the receiving corps. He has used those wheels to catch nine separate Golson passes for more than 20 yards, including six scores highlighted by the aforementioned 75-yarder and a 72-yard tally versus Syracuse. If any- thing, Fuller worries about Golson un- derthrowing him, despite the quarter- back's visible increase in arm strength this year. "During the game, if he underthrows me or something, I'll give him a hand motion, throw it out there farther," Fuller said. "I know he can put it out there farther for me, and I'll run under it." Fuller does not show such assertive- ness when talking with the media or much of any time off the field, accord- ing to Robinson and Denbrock, even drawing a comparison to a "church mouse" from the latter. On the field, however, both say there is another side of the speedster. "There is a competitive fire inside of him," Denbrock said. "It's really im- portant to him to do well. He's a very prideful young man. I love that about him. When the lights come on, he's ready to go." This season, Fuller learned the impor- tance of performing under the practice lights, too. Kelly has reemphasized it. That lesson proved the key to starring on Saturdays, as well. ✦