Vanderbilt reportedly had multiple different options at kicker other than Sarah Fuller this past weekend.
This past weekend against Missouri, Fuller became the first woman to kick in a Power Five game, and it didn’t exactly go great. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
CHANGING THE GAME ????
Sarah Fuller just became the first woman to play in a Power 5 college football game. @SECNetwork pic.twitter.com/Qq3U6jtica
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 28, 2020
Afterwards, the media celebrated like she’d just won the Miracle on Ice game. Well, it turns out that Vanderbilt might have had multiple different options.
According to Chad Withrow during an interview with Clay Travis, Vanderbilt could have used the punter, a defensive back with kicking experience or a young man on campus with great kicking experience.
However, Withrow said “there was no competition” when it came with Vandy rolling with Fuller. You can listen to him break it all down below.
This is the part about this whole situation that really grinds my gears and the gears of a lot of other people.
Sarah Fuller kicking for Vanderbilt had virtually nothing to do with her being a great kicker. As Withrow pointed out, there were multiple other options on the table.
Most notably, using the punter seems like it would have made the most sense seeing as how that’s generally what college and NFL teams do when a kicker goes down.
History.???? Made.????
Congrats @SarahFuller_27. pic.twitter.com/H6m1unz1Hu
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) November 28, 2020
Instead, Vanderbilt went with the women’s soccer goalie, and we all know how it went. No matter what you’re sold in the media, this situation was nothing more than a stunt, and Derek Mason was fired literally the next day.
Vanderbilt is parting ways with head football coach Derek Mason. Offensive coordinator Todd Fitch will serve as interim head coach until a replacement is named.https://t.co/eaSfVhZOdy
— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) November 29, 2020
If Vanderbilt was actually competing for something, this Fuller stunt never would have happened. Instead, the team was used for a PR stunt, and it’s simply absurd.