Ahmad Fulwood has all the physical tools and talent in the world.
But there’s been one problem with Fulwood since he stepped on campus: He’s yet to break out and use those tools to his advantage.
He’s 6-foot-4, which makes him taller than most defensive backs he matches up against.
He weighs 211 pounds, which means he should be able to outmuscle most opposing defensive backs lining up against him, and he’s quick enough and explosive enough to run away from defenders.
Yet in his first two years as a Gator, Fulwood has just 29 receptions, 326 yards and two touchdowns.
Those numbers are abysmal for a guy who came into Florida as a four-star recruit and was ranked as the No. 11 wide receiver in the country, according to 247Sports.
And for the people who say that he hasn’t had a decent enough quarterback to get him the ball, look at what Demarcus Robinson did last season. Robinson had 53 catches for 810 receiving yards and seven touchdowns catching passes from the same two quarterbacks — Jeff Driskel and Treon Harris — that Fulwood had.
One of Fulwood’s’ problems is that frankly, he hasn’t shown up in games. He’s played in every single game of his career, but he failed to record a catch in 10 of those 24 games.
I can give him a pass for the four games in his freshman season where he didn’t have a single catch since he was getting acclimated to the college game, but the six games last year? Not so much.
In the four games in October last year, Fulwood had two catches for 10 yards. He wasn’t that much better in November as he had three receptions for 66 yards in five games. If you take away his 86 yard catch and run in the Birmingham Bowl against East Carolina on Jan. 3 — which was set up by a block by offensive lineman Rod Johnson — Fulwood had 11 catches and 113 yards the other 11 games.
Those are not numbers for the No 2 receiver opposite of Robinson heading into the season.
But the early signs coming from Fall camp suggests that Fulwood is making a concerted effort to become a better all-around receiver. Head coach Jim McElwain though would like to see Fulwood use his God-given talent.
"One thing I’d like to do is really see him use his size and speed, really block out a defender, really go get it at its highest point," McElwain said after practice on Aug. 10. "The one thing Ahmad has been able to do is cross-train at a couple of spots. To me, his value becomes his ability to plug into a lot of different spots."
For Fulwood’s sake, he’s going to need to be better because if he isn’t, he’s going to be looking over his shoulder and see others moving ahead of him on the depth chart.
Freshman Antonio Callaway has been turning heads since he’s arrived and he could become the No. 2 guy behind Robinson if Fulwood doesn’t pan out. Brandon Powell, Latroy Pittman, Valdez Showers and C.J. Worton will rotate the slot receiver position in the offense.
It’s time for Fulwood to step up and max out his potential. He’s too talented to not make enough plays to make an impact.
And if he again doesn’t make the necessary adjustments to improve, people can expect the same thing from Fulwood this season as the last two years.
Nothing.
UF wide receiver Ahmad Fulwood catches a pass from quarterback Will Grier (not pictured) during practice Aug. 8, 2015, at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
