Vanderbilt soccer's Sarah Fuller 'an option' to kick for football team, coach says

Vanderbilt football, which finds itself in need of a place-kicker, could turn to women's soccer player Sarah Fuller.

Appearing on 102.5 The Game in Nashville on Wednesday, coach Derek Mason confirmed that Fuller "is an option for us."

Student newspaper  The Vanderbilt Hustler first reported that Fuller practiced with the football team Tuesday with many of the team's specialists in quarantine because of COVID-19 testing.

During Wednesday's SEC coaches call, Mason said that Fuller has been kicking in practice this week and that he has been monitoring her leg strength.

"She's got a strong leg. We'll see what that yields," Mason said. "... Sarah's an option. She seems to be a pretty good option, so we'll figure out what that looks like on Saturday."

If Fuller plays Saturday against Missouri, it is believed that she would be the first woman to participate in a Power 5 football game.

Fuller is a senior goalkeeper from Texas who appeared in nine games and made 28 saves for the Commodores, who finished 8-4 last season. She had three saves last weekend as Vanderbilt upset top-seeded Arkansas 3-1 to capture the SEC tournament tile.

Vanderbilt has had trouble in the kicking game dating back to the summer, when graduate transfer Oren Milstein opted out. Junior Pierson Cooke, the lone player to attempt field goals this season, is 3-for-7. Wes Farley is 6-for-6 on extra points but has no field goal attempts in 2020.  Javan Rice, a junior who was ESPN's 12th-ranked kicker in the Class of 2018, has not played in a game this season.

The Commodores are 0-7 this season, Mason's seventh leading the program.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.