Sarah Fuller’s football career comes to an end

Pete Thamel

The shotgun football kicking career of Vanderbilt’s Sarah Fuller appears to have come to a close, as the Commodores’ game at Georgia on Saturday has been canceled.

Vanderbilt has been dealing with COVID-19 issues, and the game is the last one on its schedule. The Commodores will finish the season 0-9.

For Fuller, who didn’t join the team until a few days before Thanksgiving, this presumably marks the elimination of her final chance to kick in a college football game. She appeared in two games for the Commodores, executing a deft squib kick against Missouri and kicking two extra points against Tennessee on Saturday.

Fuller became the first woman to both appear and score a point in a Power Five football game, moments that transcended the sporting landscape and reverberated through pop culture. She earned praise everywhere, from LeBron James to Mia Hamm.
Fuller is planning to return to the Vanderbilt women’s soccer team, as she’s the program’s starting goalie. Vanderbilt plays in the NCAA tournament this spring, which was moved from its usual spot in the fall because of the pandemic.

After that, Fuller plans to transfer to North Texas. She’s planning on playing two more years of soccer and has no designs to play football. She told Yahoo Sports recently that her passion remains in soccer, but she said that if North Texas ever needed her in a pinch, she’d gladly step up.

“We’ve watched with admiration and great respect how Sarah has handled herself in making history at Vanderbilt,” North Texas athletic director Wren Baker said by phone on Monday. “We look forward to welcoming her to the Mean Green family and helping her extend her platform. I know she’s a role model for lots of people in the country, particularly young female athletes.”