The excitement has been building for Will Fuller since he was a freshman two years ago and first saw Saturday’s game on the future schedule.
When the now-junior wide receiver saw the date, he knew he'd have the opportunity to come home to Philadelphia and play in front his friends and family while wearing the famed shiny gold helmet of Notre Dame.
But Fuller, a native of the Frankford section of the city, never thought the hype and frenzied atmosphere around the game would be quite like this.
That’s because he never thought Saturday would feature a nationally televised primetime showdown between his 6-1 No. 9 Fighting Irish and the 7-0 No. 21 Temple Owls.
“Not at all,” he said Wednesday on a conference call. “It’s like a dream come true. I would have never thought about this happening. It’s going to be really cool.
“When I was a freshman, I wasn’t really paying attention to it too much. I was just excited to be playing Temple (in South Bend, Indiana — a 28-6 Notre Dame win) period freshman year. But it’s an exciting feeling right now going back home and being one of the good players on the Notre Dame team.”
Fuller, who was a standout at Center City’s Roman Catholic High School before graduating in 2013, isn’t just “one of the good players on Notre Dame.” He’s a bonafide star and one of the best receivers in the country.
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He burst to the forefront of the collegiate scene in 2014 when he had 76 catches for 1,094 yards and 15 touchdowns, all of which were school records for a sophomore. Those 15 TDs tied Rhema McKnight (2006) and Jeff Samardzija (2005) for the single-season school record.
Through seven games this season, the 21-year-old Fuller has caught 32 balls for 702 yards and eight touchdowns, including a late game-winning score in a 34-27 win at Virginia on Sept. 12. He’s averaging 21.9 yards per catch and 100.3 receiving yards.
His head coach at Roman, Joe McCourt, said he knew Fuller was always capable of becoming the offensive force he is today. In fact, he said he knew from Fuller’s first varsity start that the receiver was destined to be great.
“His first start his sophomore year, it was the second game of the year, against Malvern Prep, which is a legit football program around here,” McCourt said. “The first three times he caught the ball, he scored touchdowns. And he did them three different ways.
"He caught a little 5-yard hitch route where he made the corner miss and then ran 40 yards for a touchdown. Then he caught about a 60-yard bomb where he outran the corner for the touchdown. Then we were down near the goal line and he caught a fade near the corner of the end zone.
“That was when I knew this kid wasn’t a one-trick pony. He could make plays at the wide receiver position no matter what route or what was thrown at him as a sophomore in high school. Throughout high school, he was almost impossible to cover.”
Fuller continued his rise at Roman to the point he was named Philadelphia Catholic League 4A MVP during his senior season in 2012 when had 57 receptions for 932 yards and eight touchdowns.
He was also named to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s All-Southeastern Pennsylvania first team, the Philadelphia Daily News’ All-City team and the Pennsylvania Sportswriters AAAA All-State first team that year. While at Roman, Fuller originally committed to Penn State, but decided to decommit and eventually signed with Notre Dame.
Temple head coach Matt Rhule has long been an admirer of Fuller’s abilities.
While Rhule has a ferocious defense that’s ranked 14th in the nation with just 307.7 yards allowed per game, he knows that unit has its hands full trying to contain Fuller on Saturday.
“I’m proud of Will and what he’s done at Notre Dame. He’s a dynamic player.” Rhule said. “I don’t know that anyone can slow down Will Fuller. Every game, you see him over and over again.
“You just have to go out and compete against him and try to make plays on the ball. First play of the USC game is a 75-yard touchdown for him on a post. He literally looks like a video game. That’s how fast he looks. He’s a great player and we’ll just have to do the best we can.”
Despite all the stats and accolades he’s amassed and attention that surrounds him, especially in his hometown, Fuller admits he maintains a cool demeanor off the field. And that’s his mindset going into Saturday’s game.
It’s business as usual.
“I don’t feel like I’m going to be overhyped or anything like that,” Fuller, who expects to have over 100 friends and family in attendance Saturday, said. “I can keep a calm demeanor. I mean, I never played in a game like this before, but I can keep a calm demeanor. I’m a calm dude, so it’s not going to be that difficult to play my game and not get overhyped about playing back in Philly.”
McCourt and Fuller are still close and keep in touch via text messages a few times a week.
“He’s going to love coming back to Philly,” McCourt said. “He loves everything about Philly. He plays for Notre Dame, but he still lives here. He’s got tattoos on his arm representing Philly.
"He’s going to love coming back here and playing in front of family and friends. He’s going to love this environment. He’s just going to love coming back and having the opportunity to show what he can do in front of his family and friends in his own city.”
McCourt said Fuller’s calmness and ability to not let a moment become too big has always been there.
“Off the field, he’s the most quiet, humble, genuinely nice kid I’ve ever been around,” McCourt said. “There were a couple times where I actually felt like I had to go up to him and kind of give him a little confidence. He’s just that type of kid. He’s not going to be cocky. He’s not going to be overconfident. He’s the ultimate team player. He does whatever the coach tells him and he just goes out there and makes plays.”
For Fuller, this weekend is only about helping his team pick up an important win over a tough, gritty Temple team.
“I know this game is not about me,” he said. “It’s about the team and whatever I have to do to get this win. It’s not about me going back to Philly. We just happened to be going to Philly and I’m on the team. I’m just going to do my part in trying to get the win.”
That may sound like some generic thing you would expect most players in Fuller’s situation to say. But, perhaps more than anyone else, McCourt knows not to doubt Fuller will make a major impact come Saturday night.
“You put a football helmet on him, and he turns into the best player on the field,” McCourt said.