With the final home game quickly approaching and the season nearing an end, the Gators will certainly miss wide receiver Ahmad Fulwood.
With the amount of talent under his belt, Fulwood chose to be a Gator over Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State (and 18 other Division 1 programs). “I chose Florida because it’s close to home and my mom could come to the games. It’s a great education, as well,” Fulwood explains.
Ahmad’s mother, Terri Fulwood, also enjoys the convenience of having her son close.
“The fact that he’s an hour and a half away is nice. That’s one of the reasons he picked Florida because he’s like ‘Mom if we have an emergency, I can come home or you can come see me.’ It’s nice that I can just drive an hour and a half to go see him. So it means a lot that he’s close by,” she explains.
When he signed with Florida, Ahmad was a national top-125 player overall and a national top-15 receiver. Fulwood was a 4-star prospect and an Army All-American. Not to mention, at the time, he was rated higher than some of Florida’s starters, Keanu Neal, Caleb Brantley and Jarrad Davis. Needless to say, Gator coaches and fans expected big from this 6-4, 189 pound senior.
Ahmad’s mother, Terri Fulwood, talked about one of her proudest moments as a Gator parent: “When he was a freshman and I first met Coach Joker Phillips, his first wide receivers coach, I went in his office and he had this really big picture of Ahmad. He had it framed! I was so impressed so I took a picture of it and I still have it on my phone. I couldn’t believe it because I was like ‘This coach really thinks a lot of him.’ That made me really really proud.”
Ahmad Fulwood certainly lived up to the expectations. In the fall of 2013, Ahmad began his journey as a Gator and started as a true freshman. He went on to play all 46 games in his career (and still counting).
As a freshman, Fulwood had 17 receptions, totaled 127 yards and scored one touchdown. That season, Ahmad’s 17 catches were the most made by a true freshman wide receiver at the University of Florida since the era of Percy Harvin and his 34 catches.
As a sophomore, Ahmad started five times as a wide receiver and led the team in receiving yards in the bowl game against East Carolina. It was during this game that he scored a career-long 86-yard touchdown.
Junior year, he played all 14 games and caught six passes for a total of 61 total yards. So far, in his senior year, Ahmad has played in all eight games with five receptions for 64 total yards.
However, it hasn’t been an easy route for this talented wide receiver. During his first year as a Gator, he experienced being on the first sub.500 Florida football team in nearly 35 years. The following year, he faced five losses in the season, one of which was the homecoming against Missouri (42-14). As a junior, Fulwood underwent a transition in head coaches and practically an entirely new coaching staff.
“This is the first time, in terms of college, that he has not started. So, playing at Florida has been a humbling experience because he has always started and that changed when he came to Florida. I’m seeing a different Ahmad. He’s more mature, and it’s good – I’m glad,” his mother explains.
Despite some of these oppositional moments, Ahmad continues to prevail on the field. He has just one last home game and three scheduled games left in the season to make an impact on his team.
So what does this last game in the Swamp mean to senior Ahmad Fulwood? “It’s bitter sweet. It’s a beautiful moment. To see myself develop all four years, not only on the field but off the field, it’s breathtaking. I’m just now trying to soak all these last moments up on the home turf,” he says.
In Ahmad’s career as a Gator, he has faced two losses and one win against South Carolina. He explains exactly what he wants to leave on the field come Saturday: “[I want to leave] everything I got. We’re playing an opponent who has been kind of throwing us in our own crib. I don’t want that to happen, so I’m going to give it all I got so we come out victorious.”
With the passion resonating in Ahmad Fulwood as he enters the stadium for the last time on Saturday, expect to see relentless heart, emotion and a Gator victory.