History will be made in Missouri on Saturday.
Sarah Fuller will become the first woman to participate in a power-conference football game when she serves as Vanderbilt’s kicker.
The soccer team’s goalie, Fuller was brought in with a number of special teams players being unable to play due to positive COVID-19 tests.
“It hits me every now and then I’m like, ‘Whoa this is all happening,’” the Wylie, Texas native told the school’s official website.
After helping the women’s soccer team win the SEC Tournament, Fuller was ready to head home. Then, she got a call from associate head coach Ken Masuhr, asking her if she had ever kicked a football.
“Would you want to be a kicker on the football team?” Masuhr asked her. “Would you be able to stay here this weekend and be a kicker for the football team?”
Soon, she was on the practice field, showing what she could do.
“I made the first one and I kept making them,” Fuller said. “It sounds really good to me. It’s different than a soccer ball, but it felt good.”
Fuller doesn’t lack confidence. She was watching winless Vanderbilt’s game against Florida on Saturday with her soccer teammates and told them she could be a college kicker if given an opportunity. Now that chance has arrived.
“I think it’s amazing and incredible. But I’m also trying to separate that because I know this is a job I need to do and I want to help the team out and I want to do the best that I can,” Fuller said. “Placing that historical aspect aside just helps me focus in on what I need to do. I don’t want to let them down anyway.
“It’s an honor they called on me to be able to do this and help them out.”
