UPDATE:
Vanderbilt's Sarah Fuller has made history, becoming the first female to appear in a Power 5 conference college football game on Saturday.
Fuller, the starting goalkeeper on the Vanderbilt women's soccer team, kicked off the second half of the Commodores' game against the Missouri with a squib kick to the Missouri 35-yard-line.
The senior began practicing with the football team last week, several weeks after the women's soccer team was eliminated in the final of the SEC Tournament, but there was no confirmation on her involvement prior to Friday's announcement.
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Sarah Fuller is expected to make history for the this weekend.
Fuller, the starting goalkeeper on the Vanderbilt women's soccer team, will dress for Vandy's football team on Saturday and could become the first female to appear in a Power 5 college football game, the university announced on its official athletics website Friday afternoon. The senior began practicing with the football team last week, several weeks after the women's soccer team was eliminated in the final of the SEC Tournament, but there was no confirmation on her involvement prior to Friday's announcement.
“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 via VUCommodores.com. “Placing that historical aspect aside just helps me focus in on what I need to do. I don’t want to let them down in anyway.
“It’s an honor they called on me to be able to do this and help them out.”
Vanderbilt has not only struggled with place-kicking, going 3-of-7 on field goals in 2020, but is also reportedly dealing with several specialists in COVID-19 related quarantines, the Vanderbilt Hustler reports.
Prior to the announcement, head coach Derek Mason confirmed Fuller had practiced with the football team during an SEC coaches teleconference last week.
“Had her out, had a chance to look at what she can do with a football,” Mason said, per the Athletic’s Peter Baugh. “She’s really good with a soccer ball, seems like she’s pretty good with a football, too.”
Vanderbilt (0-7) will face the Missouri Tigers (3-3) in Columbia on Saturday (November 28) at 11:00 a.m. CST on the SEC Network. The matchup was initially scheduled to take place on October 17, but was rescheduled due to a lack of available scholarship student-athletes brought on by the quarantining of individuals with positive COVID-19 tests and others deemed close contacts, as well as injuries and opt-outs.
The Commodores were initially scheduled to face the in-state rival Tennessee Volunteers this weekend, but instead moved the game back to accommodate the Missouri-Vanderbilt game.
Photo: Getty Images