Kyle Fuller '10 - Homecoming

It’d been 13 years since Kyle Fuller ’10 last put on a purple football jersey. In that time, he graduated from Mount Saint Joseph, started at cornerback for four years at Virginia Tech, was picked in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, saw 104 NFL starts, and earned two Pro Bowl selections.

Kyle isn’t the only football phenom in the Fuller family. His three brothers also played college ball for the Hokies and went on to the NFL. The eldest, Vincent Jr., was selected in the fourth round by the Tennessee Titans in 2005. Corey went to the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 2013 draft, and Kendall, the youngest, was a third-round pick for the Washington Commanders in 2016. Kyle has the longest career of his brothers, now in his ninth NFL season. In 2018, he led the league in interceptions and pass deflections and has recorded 19 career interceptions.

After more than a decade sporting orange–from Tech to Chicago to a yearlong stint in Denver–Kyle signed a one-year contract with his hometown team, the Baltimore Ravens, in May 2022. Growing up a Ravens fan, the prospect of taking the field at M&T Bank Stadium in a purple jersey felt surreal to Kyle. Looking forward to that first game in uniform, he told the Baltimore Sun, “I think that’s when it’ll actually hit me.”

On Sunday, Nov. 11, on the road at the New York Jets, Kyle played in purple for the first time since his senior year at The Mount. Unfortunately, a late-fourth-quarter injury took him out of the game, and it was later discovered he had torn his ACL, effectively ending his season before he could experience a game in Baltimore.

While the future remains uncertain as he works toward recovery, Kyle is no stranger to adversity. He missed the 2016 season with the Bears after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery but returned in 2017 and made an immediate impact as a starting cornerback. After the first five games of that season, he led the defense in solo tackles and pass breakups and ranked second in total tackles.

Regardless of what happens next, Kyle has a lot to be proud of as the greatest Gael to ever play in the NFL.