Asleep in his hotel room bed Thursday night, Tario Fuller dreamt of a big Friday.
In the dream, the running back imagined finding a seam through a hole inside, then bouncing out and rumbling for a touchdown. And while that might not have been exactly like a run he had in the 44-21 win over Ohio, he had plenty real-life rushes that were successful.
The sophomore running back finished with career-high 142 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown, helping spur Purdue to even its record at 1-1.
“I dreamed last night — literally — that I was going to break out,” Fuller said. “And I just so happened to break out.”
Most definitely.
And Fuller not only turned in a big game during a big win, but he helped set a tone early on. He had attempts on Purdue’s first three snaps, the third being a 39-yard rush, his longest of the game. But it might have been the first, when he says he sought out a Bobcat defender to hit to let him know that he wasn’t only going to try to race by contact, that was a harbinger for what was to come.
“On that first run, I knew what type of game it was going to be,” he said. “When you get going, you kind of feel it. After the third run and I kind of broke it, I was like, ‘OK, this is going to be one of those days,’ so I was extremely focused at the beginning. I just came out and played.”
Fuller, a 6-foot, 190-pounder, helped Purdue find needed offensive balance, with the Boilermakers gaining 263 on the ground to complement the 295 through the air.
Months ago, Fuller might have seemed like an unlikely source for that kind of impact. Last year, he had been behind on the depth chart, giving up chances for playing time to Markell Jones, Richie Worship and Brian Lankford-Johnson. And add D.J. Knox, who had been out with a knee injury, back to the mix this season and it could have pushed Fuller down another notch.
But Fuller rededicated himself during the offseason, matured into a player who embraced film study and preparation, and focused on self-improvement. It’s all paid off.
Fuller left the spring as the starter and hasn’t let the job go.
“Tario has a great attitude,” Coach Jeff Brohm said. “We really enjoy coaching him. He gives great effort. He wants to win, wants to be pushed. He came ready to play today. I think we were happy to get him going.
“… He got a good bulk of (the carries) and was able to break some runs and get through some tackles, which we want to see yards after contact. Once he got going, he was able to give us that. I was proud of him and I know he was happy with the performance.”
Study of the Bobcats' tendencies helped, Fuller said. Purdue noticed that Ohio, with its defense that is focused on trying to load up to stop the run, would do so by strictly adhering to their assignments. But Fuller thought he could take advantage of the Bobcats' strength.
“When I saw a hole, I just ran,” he said. “You can’t give them time to get off blocks, because they’re going to be in the right spot. But if you just run and hit it, nine times out of 10, they don’t know where you’re at. I watched film, they don’t even look at the ball carrier. When they see run, they go straight downhill. That’s all film.”
Fuller has turned himself into a solid all-around back. Not only did he have the yardage, but he also blocked well in the passing game, once standing up a free blitzer off David Blough’s left.
“It was great to see him have success,” Blough said. “And we need it, we need that production out of the backfield. … He’s a fun spirited guy and feeds off running hard.”
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