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WR, 6'3, 201, 4.5, 315 BP
Montevallo, AL
Nickname: Dre
Birthday: 11-11-80
High School: Montevallo
HS Mascot: Bulldogs
HS Coach: Charlie Boren
HS Position: WR/FS/KR
HS Number: 3
AL Number: 3
Official Visits: Alabama
Second Choice: Auburn
Host During Alabama Visit: Shontua Ray
Committed: 11-1-98
Academic Status: Not Qualified
Stats
HS Junior Season
Tackles
Interceptions
HS Senior Season
Receptions
- 40 receptions
- 985 yards
- 18 TDs
Interceptions
Career
Receptions
- 40 receptions
- 985 yards
- 18 TDs
Tackles
Interceptions
Honors
- All-State
- Two-time All-Metro
- Tuscaloosa News Sweet 16
- AL MS HS All Star Game
SBR Scouting Report
Explosive kick-returner. Has the elusiveness, speed, and vision to be a consistent return threat. Exceptional hands, size, and speed as a wide receiver. Plays free-safety like a center-fielder and could make an impact at that position as well. Projects as a wide receiver.
[Observation: highlight tape.]
Stories
Wide-Open Attack Perfect For Fulgham
Montevallo didn't have Shontua Ray to run the ball this season. So new Coach Charlie Boren installed a wide-open passing attack that was perfect Leonard Fulgham.
"It gave me a chance to catch some passes," Fulgham says. "That's the thing I liked about it."
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As a junior, Fulgham played free safety and returned kicks, and he saw some action at wide receiver, but mostly as a decoy on running plays.
In Boren's system, Fulgham emerged as one of the South's best big-play receivers. He caught 40 passes for 987 yards and scored 18 touchdowns. That's more than 24 yards per catch and almost a touchdown for every two catches!
"It's unbelievable how much raw ability he has," Boren says. "He's a 6'3 200-pounder with outstanding speed and quickness. He has exceptional hands and concentration."
The experience of playing in a wide-open attack should help Fulgham make an early contribution next season at Alabama.
"I don't think there'll be a problem adjusting," he says. "I've studied their offense some. It's a lot like the one that we ran in high school."
And that was perfect for Leonard Fulgham.
He Might Be Best Athlete In Tide's Class
Ask Leonard Fulgham about his vertical leap and he'll tell you about the play he made in a basketball game against Calera during his sophomore season.
Fulgham, going after an alley-oop pass, hauled it in above the square on the backboard and slammed it home.
"People around here were talking about that play for a week," Fulgham says. "My coaches still have pictures of it."
Fulgham, possibly the best all-around athlete in Alabama's recruiting class, is an outstanding basketball player. As a junior he averaged 25 points per game, and this season he's averaging 20 points and eight rebounds a game.
Against Bibb County in his junior year, Fulgham had a career-high 41 points.
"I was feeling it that night," Fulgham says. "They had beat us earlier in the season and I wanted to get them back. I hit a bunch of three-pointers and had some alley-oop dunks."
Fulgham's top performance this season was when he scored 35 points on Childersburg star Gerald Wallace.
Fulgham says there's a slim chance that he'll play basketball at Alabama.
"Coach Swinney thinks it would be alright, but I'm not sure about it right now," Fulgham says. "I'd like to play because I think that I could help the team."
Basketball Was His First Love
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Leonard Fulgham never thought that he'd be a football player.
"Basketball was my first love," he says. "I didn't care about playing football."
But that changed during his sophomore year.
"A lot of my friends were on the football team," Fulgham says. "When I'd go to the games, I felt like I should be out there helping them."
And the next season he did help them. He helped them make it to the second round of the state playoffs. He intercepted eight passes and returned six kicks for touchdowns.
"I never thought I'd say this," Fulgham laughs. "But I like football more now."
The Fade
Leonard Fulgham is almost unstoppable on the fade route.
"That's my favorite pattern," Fulgham says. "It's like going up for a rebound or an alley- oop pass in basketball -- you just go get it."
Dabo Swinney understood the similarity when he went to watch Fulgham play basketball.
"We were playing against Pelham," Fulgham says. "I caught an alley-oop pass and slammed it."
Then he looked up in the stands for Swinney's reaction.
"He couldn't believe what he'd just seen," Fulgham says. "His mouth was open and his eyes were big."
But Swinney knew what to say.
"He told me to get ready for a lot of fade routes. That was just what I wanted to hear."
His Adrenaline Kicks In
An example of Leonard Fulgham's ability came in a play that he made to help Montevallo beat Chelsea last season.
Trailing 28-24 late in the fourth quarter, Montevallo had the ball at its own 20-yard line.
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"We had to go 80 yards pretty quick," Fulgham says. "I wanted the ball."
And he got it. Fulgham hauled in a quick slant pattern over the middle and turned on the speed.
"I saw the safety on one side and the corner on the other," recalls Fulgham. "I just split them and took it the distance. We won 30-28."
Fulgham took it the distance 17 other times last season.
"When I catch a pass, the adrenaline kicks in," Fulgham says. "It's like I grow bigger and faster than everyone else on the field."
Q&A
TI: Leonard, do you expect to be a wide receiver or free safety at Alabama?
LF: It doesn't matter to me where I play. I just want to come in and help the team as soon as I can. Coach Swinney says that I'm going to be a receiver. I wouldn't mind playing both ways.
TI: Do you expect to play or redshirt next season?
LF: I think that I can come in and play. Coach Swinney says that they're going to need me to come in and play.
TI: The offense you played in at Montevallo was similar to Alabama's. It was a wide-open attack with three and four wide receivers. Will that help you to come in and play early next season?
LF: I don't think I'll have many problems adjusting to Alabama's offense because I've played in a wide-open attack and I'm a very quick learner. We used some audibles and I have experience adjusting my routes. I haven't played on the college level yet, but adjusting to Alabama's offense won't be a reason for me not to play next season.
TI: Talk about your strength's as a receiver?
LF: I think it starts with my size and jumping ability. Right now I'm 6'3 and a little over 200 pounds. I have good speed, but I want to get a little faster before I report to Alabama next season.
TI: We noticed on film that you have excellent hands. Do you think playing basketball has helped you develop good hands?
LF: Basketball has helped me to concentrate on the ball. When I started playing football, I noticed that catching the ball came natural. I think a lot of that is because I had played so much basketball.
TI: Do you have any weaknesses that you need to work on?
LF: My coach says that I need to work on staying focused the whole game. He says that sometimes during games that I lose my intensity. That's just a matter of concentrating harder.
TI: You were a great kick returner in high school. Any chance that you'll return kicks at Alabama?
LF: I haven't talked to the coaches about that. They know I have the ability to return kicks. I'll leave it up to them.
TI: Have you set any goals for your career at Alabama?
LF: I just want to help Alabama football get back to where it's been in the past. I think that we'll do that in the next three or four years. Before I leave there, I want to catch a lot of passes.
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