Quashon Fuller’s kitchen prowess rivaled his Maryland football teammates

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

The 6-foot-3, 264-pound redshirt senior often prepares weekly meals for his teammates on the defensive line (and other stragglers) at his home. He whips up food, and players watch an NFL or college football game or film review as part of Fuller’s plan to further engage them.

Fuller — who had four interceptions and forced a fumble in the team’s 42-28 loss to No. 23 Indiana on Saturday — buys ingredients and spends a few hours in the kitchen. At the end, he uses a towel to wipe his face, and his black “Chef Qua” apron is dirty, but the diligence is rewarded.

“Just being able to do something that I love and that touches other people, I feel like that makes it worthwhile,” he said. “It is not a blessing to live here with all these boys, it is also a blessing to be able to share something that seems young.”

Last Thursday, Fuller opened his home to reporters. Here’s what happened when she made fried chicken and red velvet waffles:

Fuller poured two large bottles of peanut oil into the deep fryer and then fried about 40 pieces of chicken while it was hot. 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 talent in the kitchen began when he was 12 years old. With her mother Mechelle Hadley working long hours as a bus driver, Fuller would cook for her younger brother Dequaveon Fuller and uncle Robert Hadley, who were suffering from cancer.

Fuller admitted that his dishes were not cleaned.

“I used to dance, but my dancing was terrible,” he said, recalling one time when he tried to cook a chicken dish. “I used to put all kinds of spinners there, which is wrong. I think I panicked and threw the honey there. “

Fuller said he first hung out with his mother while she was in the kitchen. They talked and shared, but he also noticed her skills.

Fuller said she didn’t show her mother and older sister Kwametra Schley what she learned until a few years ago when she made them a meal of fried chicken and pasta. He said he knew that he had improved according to his sister’s behavior.

“He is one of those people who will say, ‘Good food,’ and then try to go home and cook for himself,” he said.

When the fryer wasn’t hot enough, Fuller hopped on a video call with his mother, who walked him through resetting the heating unit and adding a little water to the fryer. While frying the chicken, Fuller poured red velvet batter into the waffle maker.

After roasting the chicken and making the waffles, Fuller put the finished products in the oven to keep them warm. He also mixed up a big jar of mango Kool-Aid and put it in the fridge.

Fuller, who grew up in Fort Myers, Florida, and spent three years at Florida State before transferring to the Terps before the start of the 2022 season, doesn’t plan to cook for his teammates. But in 2022, former opponent Anthony “Tank” Booker Jr. she took Fuller’s Christmas meal of ribeye steak, mashed potatoes and roasted broccoli and spread the word.

Fuller, who started cooking for his teammates last season, said he often makes pasta alfredo for dinner. When she goes out, she enjoys a hot honey and lemon pepper chicken sandwich with tater tots at Milk & Honey Southern Inspired Kitchen and a breakfast of pancakes, eggs and meat at Iron Rooster in College Park. A splurge dinner at Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen in Washington.

Fuller admitted that he doesn’t eat certain things like tomatoes, guacamole, seafood and cilantro.

“I’m a foodie,” he said. “I think that’s why it’s good to be a chef.”

Before 9 pm, the defensive team of senior Samuel Adu, redshirt sophomore Daniel Owens, freshman Joshua Simmons, and sophomores Dillan Fontus and Lavon Johnson arrived. Adu said he likes Fuller’s baked beans.

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

Senior receptionist Kaden Prather and Fontus hired Fuller to make Valentine’s Day dimes for them and their dates. Fontus said a 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 him that he was my friend,” said Fontus.

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

“Just imagine if LeBron was like, ‘Hey, yo, Qua, the family’s trying to eat,'” he said. “That’s when you’re like, ‘I’m really cooking for LeBron James.’