Vanderbilt Commodores place kicker Sarah Fuller (32) warms up before a game against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Vanderbilt's Sarah Fuller named co-SEC Special Teams Player of the Week

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 11/30/20

Sarah Fuller made history for the Vanderbilt Commodores during Saturday's blowout loss to the Missouri Tigers and was honored for her efforts by the Southeastern Conference on Monday.

The SEC named Fuller, who served as Vanderbilt's placekicker and became the first woman to compete in an official Power Five football game, as one of the league's Special Teams Players of the Week. Since fired head coach Derek Mason called upon the Vanderbilt women's soccer starting goalkeeper because many of his team's specialists were quarantined through the weekend due to COVID-19 protocols.

Fuller delivered a pinpoint squib kick meant to prevent a Missouri return at the start of the third quarter of Saturday's contest. Katie Hnida of New Mexico and April Goss of Kent State are the only other women who have appeared in Football Bowl Subdivision games.

Mason was fired following the 41-0 defeat that dropped Vanderbilt to 0-8 on the year, but Fuller nevertheless wants to remain with the program, if possible.

"I would love to learn more, so if those guys come out of quarantine, I would love to learn from them and their experience," she said on Sunday. "I've been having a lot of fun doing this. It's a challenge for me, but it's something I know I can do. It's applicable from doing a goal kick to a field goal kick, so I want to continue learning, and if those guys can help me, I'm all for it."

Vanderbilt is at the No. 9-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (6-2) this coming Saturday.

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