Devin Fuller Announcement: Which Finalist Will Really Let Him Play Quarterback?

In case you haven’t seen the high school highlights of QB Devin Fuller, one of the top-rated recruits of the 2012 class, do yourself a favor and click on this link, just so you can get a good idea of what a truly special high school athlete is supposed to look like.

Fuller, who played for New Jersey’s Old Tappan High School, is one of the most naturally gifted and physically blessed prospects in the country, and there isn’t a school out there that wouldn’t love to have his services.

Programs like Alabama, Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame and Ohio State have all offered him scholarships, but the catch is, most schools simply view him as an “athlete,” a label he’s been tagged with by many recruiting services.

It’s a label we see dozens of recruits get stuck with every year, and it’s usually reserved for dual-threat quarterbacks who may not necessarily have the type of arm or passing skills to make it as a signal-caller at the major collegiate level.

But if you’ve seen highlights of Fuller, you know that he’s definitely got the type of arm to not only survive, but to thrive as a quarterback at the next level, as long as he ends up in a system that caters to his skill set. That’s why he’s made it clear that he wants to play quarterback in college, instead of making a move to wide receiver like many are projecting him.

The question is, though, which school will offer him that opportunity?

Fuller is set to make his announcement on Sunday, and he’s reportedly narrowed his choices down to five schools—Arizona, Nebraska, Rutgers, TCU and UCLA.

Logically, you would think that Arizona would be the best fit, as we’ve seen Rich Rodriguez turn more than a few “athletes” into stars in his spread offense, with Pat White and Denard Robinson being the most notable recent examples.

But leaving New Jersey for the desert of Arizona is certainly an intimidating proposition, and it remains to be seen if Fuller will want to leave the east coast for Tucson.

Nebraska is another school that could also be a solid fit, as the Cornhuskers have shown that they aren’t afraid to let a dual-threat quarterback like Taylor Martinez run their offense. Like Fuller, Martinez is a better runner than he is a passer, but that hasn’t stopped him from finding success in Nebraska’s run-oriented attack.

The most interesting school to watch is Fuller’s home-state school, Rutgers, as that’s where many recruiting analysts feel he’ll ultimately end up. However, with the reports that coach Greg Schiano is now leaving the Scarlet Knights to go coach the Tampa Bay Bucs, you have to believe that will certainly factor into his decision.

With TCU and UCLA also in the mix, it should be very interesting to hear what Fuller’s final decision is. With Schiano out of the mix at Rutgers, I have a hunch that it could ultimately come down to either Arizona or Nebraska, as those are the two schools that would offer Fuller the best chance to play quarterback.

As a big Rodriguez fan, naturally, I think the best fit for Fuller would be at Arizona, but it wouldn’t shock me if he dons a Nebraska hat on Sunday.