A household name for the past two years in draft circles, Kristian Fulton has surfaced to the top as maybe the best cornerback in college football. The LSU senior defensive back may not have strung together the season he, and many others, were expecting, but throughout his 13 games played, he still showed promising coverage skills that yearn for NFL attention.

Fulton’s popularity didn’t start at LSU. His five-star recruit status in the 2016 class ranked him as the top prospect in Louisiana and within the top 25 in the nation. Despite his high billing, it took a couple years for Fulton to see the field on a consistent basis waiting behind players like Donte Jackson, Tre’Davious White and Greedy Williams.

However, his playing time being put on hold included a lot more than simply an opportunity.

Fulton recorded a snap in just three games in 2016 after struggling to consistently see the field nursing a finger injury he later had surgery on.

In February of 2017, an NCAA representative witnessed Fulton falsifying his drug test by pouring another person’s urine into his test cup. When Fulton was approached about the situation, he poured the beaker out and proceeded to fill the beaker up with his own sample.

Crisis not averted.

Even though Fulton’s own sample came back clean for performance enhancing drugs, the NCAA still lashed out its usual protocol of a 730-day ban from competition because of his actions of tampering with the sample.

Fulton claims he originally came to the conclusion to use someone else’s urine for the test because he had smoked marijuana two days prior to the testing. However, the test was only to detect the usage of PEDs, which he claims he was not told.

The automatic penalty for tampering with an NCAA drug test is a two-year suspension. Fulton served his suspension in 2017 with the opportunity to still practice with the team. Though the suspension carries over the span of two seasons, Fulton proactively hired an attorney, with backing from LSU, to reduce his suspension and make him eligible for the 2018 season.

In late July of 2018, with information presented, the NCAA decides to reconsider the case. Two weeks later, the NCAA denies Fulton’s appeal.

Continuing to push for eligibility, Joe Alleva, LSU athletic director, sends a four-page letter to an NCAA interpretation committee expressing his concerns and how he believed Fulton was being inappropriately charged.

The committee addressed the concerns and ruled Fulton eligible for the 2018 season. This came just 10 days prior to the Tigers’ opening game versus Miami.

No. 22 (at that time) took the field in his first game since Dec. 31, 2016. Fulton recorded three tackles and a couple of breakups in the season opener and continued to thrive throughout the rest of the season.

When his time came, he shined.

Fulton made 10 starts in 2018 opposite of Williams. He recorded 10 passes defended and held his matchup to only six first downs or touchdowns all season. The senior continued the same theme in his final run in Baton Rouge by recording 13 starts — one, maybe two more to come — and racking up 31 tackles with 10 more defended and a pick.

His most recent performance versus Georgia in the SEC Championship Game proved his worth as one of the top draft prospects in college football. Targeted five times and allowing just one catch for 11 yards, Fulton took care of business in the Tigers’ first conference championship since 2011.

To no surprise, Jim Nagy and the rest of the Reese’s Senior Bowl staff sought out interest of Fulton early in the process. The tools he possesses and accentuating them in big games, only yearned for more attention and intrigue across all scouting departments.

Fulton officially accepted his Senior Bowl offer on Dec. 11 making him the best prospect in Mobile to date.

Playing the majority of his snaps as either the full-time boundary corner on the left side of the defense, a matchup versus star wideout CeeDee Lamb of Oklahoma in the first game of the College Football Playoff should be must-watch TV.

Scouting report coming soon.

References:

A Timeline of LSU Cornerback Kristian Fulton’s Suspension and Reinstatement https://www.si.com/college/2018/08/24/lsu-kristian-fulton-timeline-ncaa-suspension-reinstatement

LSU’s Fulton is free to play football, and he’s hungry https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/sports/college/lsu/2018/08/31/did-believe-over-lsus-fulton-said-suspended-suspension/1160567002/

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