Quashon Fuller’s mastery in the kitchen is a hit among his Maryland football teammates

COLLEGE PARK – Maryland defensive end Quashon Fuller loves to cook on and off the football field.

The 6-foot-3, 264-pound redshirt senior usually hosts a weekly dinner for his defensive line teammates (and a few stragglers) at his apartment. He prepares the meal and the players watch an NFL or college football game or review film of the game as part of Fuller’s plan to further connect them.

Fuller — who made four tackles and forced a fumble in the team’s 42-28 loss to No. 23 Indiana on Saturday — buys the ingredients and spends a couple of hours in the kitchen. In the end, he uses a towel to wipe his forehead and his black “Chef Qua” apron is stained, but the effort is rewarding.

“Just being able to do something that I love and that touches other people in a way, I feel like it’s worth it,” she said. “It’s not only a blessing to be able to sit here with all these kids, it’s also a blessing to be able to share something that seems so small.”

Fuller opened his home to a reporter last Thursday. Here’s what happened while he was making the fried chicken and Red Velvet waffles:

Fuller poured two large bottles of peanut oil into a fryer and then seasoned nearly 40 pieces of chicken while the fryer heated up. She mixed two boxes of Red Velvet Cake with eggs, two cups of half-and-half, and one cup each of vegetable oil and vanilla extract.

Fuller’s cooking skills began when he was 12 years old. With his mother Mechelle Hadley working long hours as a bus driver, Fuller cooked meals for his younger brother Dequaveon Fuller and uncle Robert Hadley, who was battling cancer.

Fuller admitted that his dishes were not refined.

“I was dabbling, but my dabbling was horrible,” he said, recalling a time he tried to make a chicken dish. “I used to put all kinds of seasonings on it that were wrong. I think I got nervous and threw honey on it.

Fuller said he started spending time with his mother when she was in the kitchen. They talked and shared, but he also observed his skills.

Fuller said he refrained from showing his mother and older sister Kwametra Schley what he had learned until a few years ago, when he prepared them a meal of stuffed chicken mixed with pasta. He said he knew he had improved based on his sister’s reaction.

“She’s one of those people who says, ‘The food’s fine,’ and then she tries to go home and cook it herself,” he said.

When the fryer didn’t heat up enough, Fuller made a video call with his mother, who walked him through resetting the heating unit and adding some water to the fryer. While frying the chicken, Fuller poured the red velvet batter into a waffle maker.

After frying the chicken and making the waffles, Fuller puts the finished products in the oven to keep them warm. She also made a big pitcher of mango Kool-Aid and put it in the refrigerator to cool.

Fuller, who grew up in Fort Myers, Fla., and spent three years at Florida State before transferring to the Terps ahead of the 2022 season, initially had no plans to cook for his teammates. But in 2022, former defensive linemate Anthony “Tank” Booker Jr. tasted Fuller’s Christmas meal of ribeye steak, mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli and then spread the word.

Fuller, who started cooking for his teammates last season, said he usually makes pasta alfredo for dinner. If he ventures out, he likes the hot honey lemon pepper chicken sandwich with hash browns at Milk & Honey Southern Inspired Kitchen and the pancake, egg and meat combo breakfast at Iron Rooster in College Park. A splurge is a dinner at Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen in Washington.

Fuller admitted he won’t eat certain foods like tomatoes, guacamole, seafood and cilantro.

“I’m a picky eater,” he said. “I think that’s why it’s great to be the chef.”

Before 9 p.m., a defensive line group consisting of senior Samuel Adu, redshirt sophomore Daniel Owens, freshman Joshua Simmons and sophomores Dillan Fontus and Lavon Johnson arrived. Adu said he prefers Fuller’s baked beans.

“He likes to cook,” Adu said. “So you can taste love.”

Senior receiver Kaden Prather and Fontus hired Fuller to prepare Valentine’s Day dinners for them and their dates. Fontus said the meal of ribs and macaroni and cheese was enough to make his girlfriend think Fuller was a chef, not a football player.

“I had to explain to her that he was my teammate,” Fontus said.

Obviously, reaching the NFL is Fuller’s goal. But he said he would consider opening a high-class brunch restaurant with his mother or becoming a personal chef for someone like NBA superstar LeBron James, pop icon Beyoncé or rap artist Kodak Black.

“Imagine LeBron says, ‘Hey, Here, the family is trying to eat some food,’” he said. “That’s when you think, ‘I’m really cooking for LeBron James.’”