A recurring series where we will profile every player on Maryland's roster, counting down to kick-off against William & Mary on September 1. Thanks to OBNUG for the idea.
Today we wrap up the offensive linemen.
Bennett Fulper, Senior, Center, #63
via grfx.cstv.com
Stats:
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 295
Major: Finance
Twitter: @riverdawg63
Collegiate Stats: 31 games (22 starts)
High School Stats (Senior Year): N/A
Recruiting Ratings: Two stars by Rivals, Scout
High School: Gretna
Hometown: Gretna, Va.
High School Highlights:
None that we could find.
How'd He Get to College Park?
A lightly recruited offensive guard coming out of tiny Gretna, Fulper chose Maryland over top tier FCS schools like James Madison and Appalachian State. He played on the offensive and defensive lines in high school, starting all four years on the O-line. After spending the first three at center, he moved over to right tackle for his last year. The Hawks won the state title in 2008, and Fulper was named to the All-State team after that year. Like many O-Linemen, Fulper also was on the track and field team in high school, performing in the shotput and discus events.
Fulper’s also an incredibly smart kid – as evidenced by his four years as a starter on the line – but also by the fact that he got a 4.2 GPA in high school.
Fulper became the first (and only) interior lineman under Ralph Friedgen to start as a true freshman when he did so against James Madison. During that first year, he played in seven games, including three starts at left guard and one start at right guard. As a sophomore, he played in all 13 games, starting in seven. At the beginning of the year, Fulper lost out the battle to start at right guard with Justin Lewis. After Justin Gilbert and Pete DeSouza came down with injuries, Paul Pinegar moved from center outside to tackle, clearing the way for Fulper to start the rest of the season at center.
Last year, Fulper started the first ten games of the season at center before getting injured. He was named an Academic All-American, and earned Academic all-conference honors for the second straight year.
Nickname:
Bennett "Bubba" Fulper
Career Highlight:
Earning Academic All-American honors last year.
Career Lowlight:
Losing the right guard battle as a sophomore to former Terp and Drunk Hulk Justin Lewis.
Dream Season:
Fulper finally earns all-conference honors starting at guard.
Nightmare Season:
Sal Conaboy starts at center, Fulper doesn't move to guard, and he ends up coming off the bench.
2012 Prospectus:
Bennett Fulper was shockingly listed as the number two center on Maryland's spring depth chart. Sal Conaboy was listed as the starter, with Evan Mulrooney behind both as the third-stringer.
With the news that Stephen Grommer would be moving to center, the next logical step for Maryland's offensive line seems to be Fulper moving back to guard. The Terps don't need more than four centers, they seem perfectly comfortable with Conaboy starting at the position, and they desperately need guard depth.
In his Maryland career, Fulper has started four games at guard. While the move hasn't been announced yet, we would extremely surprised, to say the least, if Fulper stays at center, especially if he isn't starting.
With Maryland's lack of experience on the offensive line, Bennett Fulper is going to be a key cog in their relative success or failure. Whether he plays center or guard remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure - he should be starting every game.
Up Next:
The subject of our next profile's last name comes from villages in southern and western England.
Terpsonfire gets his second.
Standings:
Maryland1206 - 8
kbuts151 - 6
Dirty_Terps - 5
bubbasparks -3
ClickClack62 -2
Terpsonfire - 2
T Free - 1
Terpsfinish - 1
Mdak06 - 1
clevesanterp - 1
CSB Jack - 1
Everybody else - 0