Arm strength. Poise. Vision.
Those are skills most all quarterbacks need to be successful.
Of all the qualities you would want your quarterback to have, where would trust rank on the list?
For Reed Fulgham, that intangible sits pretty high.
A year ago, Fulgham was a sophomore and new to the Victory Christian varsity football team. He knew how to play the quarterback, but he has his typical share of ups and downs as he adjusted to his role in an offense that was trying to incorporate more passing into the attack.
After getting a chance to implement a lot of those passing concepts last season, Fulgham is flourishing this season in his second season in the system. On Friday, the junior had a night to remember, going 9 of 12 for a career-high 263 yards and five touchdowns to lead Victory Christian to a 55-14 win against East Memorial in a Christian Football Association game in Columbus.
For his accomplishments, Fulgham is The Dispatch’s Prep Player of the Week.
“It’s all about trusting the guys up front,” Fulgham said. “Last year was my first year in high school playing quarterback, so I was a little nervous about that. I didn’t know much about how to adjust to stuff.”
These days, Fulgham said it is easier for him to focus on his wide receivers and not worry about the linemen doing their jobs. He said that focus as helped him not have “happy feet,” or an impulse to keep moving in the pocket that often leads quarterbacks to tuck the ball and run instead of making their reads and trusting the plays will work.
On Friday, Fulgham stayed strong in the pocket to help Victory Christian improve to 6-0 and 2-0 in the CFA. The start is the program’s best since the 2010 season, when Victory Christian went on to lose to Tuscaloosa Christian in the CFA title game.
To get back there, the Eagles will need to maintain their offensive balance. Through six games, Victory Christian has thrown for 984 yards and rushed for 1,572. Fulgham is 38 of 59 for 795 yards (64 percent completion percentage). He has 12 touchdowns and zero interceptions. Four receivers have caught touchdowns, including five by Anthony Sharp, four by Kody Anthony, and three by Cody Bolton.
Victory Christian coach Chris Hamm said Fulgham has settled in at quarterback and is more comfortable in the pocket. He said he is reading defenses well and is showing an ability to go through his progressions to hit second and third options on routes.
“I think it is just experience and the work he has put in,” Hamm said. “Last year, he was inexperienced. He played some quarterback in junior high, but high school is different. Having that year under his belt and working individually over the summer helped him. We have made more of a concerted effort to get the passing game going this year.”
Hamm said Fulgham worked in the preseason in four-on-four drills that helped him gain confidence. He said he believed Fulgham would be able to take on a larger role in the passing game because he was more experienced. He also credited assistant coach Ronnie McDaniel and former Victory Christian player Landon Ellis for the work they have done with Fulgham. The result is an offense that has scored 293 points this season, 83 more than the next closest team in the CFA.
“We talked about if we could get the passing game to complement the running game we thought we would have a hard offense to stop,” Hamm said. “Reed was capable last year. Through inexperience and a couple of rough games where the blocking kind of broke down, once you get kind of gun shy, that is the way it is. This year, he has done an excellent job staying in (the pocket) and finding those receivers.”
That’s where that trust comes in. Hamm said Fulgham has played with quiet feet in every game except the Meadowview game. He said Fulgham is “seeing what we’re seeing and he is thinking like we’re thinking and has a grasp of what we’re trying to do.”
Hamm said Fulgham could have had more than 300 yards passing against East Memorial if not for a dropped ball that likely would have went for another touchdown. As it was, Fulgham settled for a new career-best mark that eclipsed his prior one by 70 yards. He also had his second interception of the season. Hamm said the interception was key because it stopped an East Memorial drive.
Fulgham said he didn’t know he has thrown for that many yards. He said he isn’t concerned about shattering individual records and is more focused on keep the team chemistry strong so the Eagles can continue down the road to a shot at a CFA championship.
“We have grown together a whole lot,” Fulgham said. “We have learned to adjust to what the other teams have and what we have. I think we have done a really good job of that.
“The main thing on offense for me is to trust the offensive line. Trusting the line has gotten a lot better. I want to keep improving on that and trusting the receivers.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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