There were times when Cohen Fuller lost faith. But his family and those with UNLV football kept encouraging him not to give up. To forge ahead.
And he did.
And it paid off … so far.
“It honestly taught me not to take anything for granted,” Fuller said. “Everything you do, do it as it can be taken away from you at any minute. I felt like it was taken away, so I sat down and asked myself if I had given it my all.
“Did I do what I needed to do to be great? I didn’t feel like I had done enough, so now that I’m out here and get it back, I’m going to do everything I can to be here.”
Fuller is the UNLV defensive lineman who this week was allowed to return to the field when a federal judge in Las Vegas cited a Colorado ruling on eligibility.
In that case, a preliminary injunction was issued requiring the NCAA to declare certain athletes from the high school class of 2022 eligible for the upcoming season. Fuller fell into that group.
Believe it: The floodgates are officially open.
Chaotic scene
Thousands of athletes in all sports are essentially now eligible to rejoin their teams and or sign with others after exhausting four years of competition.
It’s a chaotic reality in which the NCAA filed an expedited appeal to overturn the Colorado decision and seek a stay. It has asked for a ruling by Monday. It could mean, should the NCAA be successful, players like Fuller and others possibly being taken off the fields of play with a lack of their own injunctions.
In reality, the NCAA should reverse course and merely allow the 2022 graduates one more year of competition. The losses in court continue to mount. The more it fights these issues, the more the NCAA weakens. If that’s even possible any more. It has become exhausting.
It’s not just Fuller with UNLV. Donovan Spellman is a fifth-year senior who also returned to practice this week. Laterrance Welch was second on the team in interceptions last season and was also back in a jersey and shorts while awaiting his clearance.
It’s not just football. Bishop Gorman basketball product Darrion Williams signed with Texas Tech on Friday after playing at N.C. State last season. It’s not just two main revenue-generating sports. It’s everyone and everywhere.
It’s a mess. Lawsuits. Appeals. Injunctions. Players being added to rosters that have been set for months. Coaches searching for more NIL dollars.
This is why the NCAA is so intent on Congress needing to pass the Protect College Sports Act, which, among several other issues, includes lawsuit protection for the NCAA over eligibility rules.
But the bill failed to reach a vote in the Senate on Saturday, only to be put on next month’s calendar.
Until then, we have chaos and massive roster disruption across the country.
But for now, for UNLV, a player like Fuller will more than take advantage of the Colorado ruling. And the Rebels will be better for it as long as he remains eligible.
Returning starter
“It’s huge,” coach Dan Mullen said. “You’re talking about a returning starter pretty much at the defensive tackle spot. It’s something I felt should have been happening all along so he’s done a really good job of being with the program and doing what he’s supposed to do. Doing everything to be ready for this moment and be ready to go back and be a returning starter for us on the D-line.”
Fuller would again make a formidable duo up front with fellow interior lineman Lucas Conti. The one thing you can’t replace is experience and having a Fuller-Conti combination would only help and guide younger players along.
“It’s great having (Fuller) back,” Conti said. “He’s an amazing person to play next to. He’s a great player. I want somebody to help take guys off of me and he wants the same thing. It’s great to have someone with that much experience in a college football game. There is more trust all the way around.”
So he is back for now, Fuller, along with a few other Rebels. Back and sure the Colorado ruling will stand and they will all play another season.
We will see how the NCAA appeal plays out, where this saga goes next, if the organization can actually win a fight for once.
For now, the floodgates are open.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.
