A New Age For College Football?

On Saturday November 28th, Vanderbilt Star soccer player, Sarah Fuller made college football history by becoming the first female to play on a power 5 football team. Fuller took on kickoff duties  for the Commodores last weekend after several members of the team were ruled out due to Covid-19 protocols. She became just the third ever woman to start for any college football team. 

When it was announced just days before the Commodores game, the team received much praise and backlash for their decision to start Fuller. Her role was to do a squib kick at the start of the second half. This type of kick is not meant to be a full on kick, but a shallow kick that should make it approximately 40-50 yards and to bounce off the ground. This historic moment in college football was almost completely overshadowed by the fact that many did not know the intention of this kick and were making fun of Fuller, rather than praising her accomplishment.

Vanderbilt was facing Missouri and a very good special teams unit, so the Commodores were choosing to play it safe. Not only did Fuller complete her first task, but she did it much better than some men did/do. Fuller appeared this past Saturday for Vanderbilt, and is again on their roster for their final game this upcoming weekend. 

By starting Fuller, Vanderbilt paved the way for the future of adding women to the rosters of college football teams. Someday, it is likely that we will see men and women playing side by side. We all need to remember that history is in the making everyday, even in events like sports, and many have to decide what side of history they would like to be on.