2016 NFL Draft Prospect Preview: Virginia Tech CB Kendall Fuller
Turron Davenport, FBGP Analyst______
As the 2015 college football season approaches, we will take a look at some of the top prospects across the nation. Kendall Fuller is the latest member of the Fuller family to be among the better players in college football. He follows the footsteps of his older brother Kyle Fuller who was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 2014 NFL Draft. There are a number of similarities between the two brothers.
Fuller has the full arsenal of tools that make up a top tier corner. When watching him play, three in particular stand out. The first thing that Fuller exhibits is superb footwork. This is something that helps him to recover in the rare moment that he is caught out of position. The footwork that he exhibits along with his patience forces the wide receiver to declare his route.
A lot of defensive backs are quick to fall for the moves that a receiver makes at the release. That’s not the case for Fuller.
Here we see the footwork and patience in action:
Fuller is very relaxed and simply goes where the receiver takes him. He doesn’t fall for the hard move insider and turns to run with him with ease. Notice how he is able to change direction without any hesitation. Another trait that Fuller has is how well he understands where he is on the football field. He is very much aware of how to use the sideline to his advantage and how to make the receiver’s route more difficult to execute.
The next video shows Fuller’s footwork once again.
This time he uses his hands to redirect the receiver to the outside. Fuller then cuts off the receiver’s route and reduces the space for the quarterback to drop the ball into along the sideline by simply running with the receiver but on an angle towards the sideline.
Fuller is a complete corner not only because of his ability to cover. He is a presence against the run and does an outstanding job of making tackles in the open field.
The play is designed to entice Fuller to abandon the running back on the swing pattern and instead run with the receiver on the slant. Fuller sees the swing route and takes the running back down for a loss on 3rd and 3. If Fuller doesn’t make that tackle, the running back gets the first down and more.
Kendall Fuller is as sound of a corner as you will see in college football. He has top level athleticism and possesses a thorough understanding of the position.
Questions? Comments?
Twitter: @TDavenport_NFL
Email: turron@footballgameplan.com