Quashon Fuller’s mastery of the kitchen won over 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 often hosts weekly dinners for his defensive linemen (and other tight ends) at his home. They whip up food, and players watch NFL or college football games or review sports film as part of Fuller’s plan to keep them connected.

Fuller — who made four tackles and forced a fumble in the team’s 42-28 loss to No. 23 Indiana Saturday – buy ingredients and spend a few hours in the kitchen. In the end, he uses a towel to wipe his nose, and his black “Chef Qua” apron gets dirty, but persistence pays off.

“Just being able to do what I love and have an impact on other people, I feel like it makes me more valuable,” she said. It’s not only a blessing to be here with all these guys, it’s also a blessing to share with them something that seems so small.

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

Fuller poured two large bottles of peanut oil into the deep fryer and added about 40 pieces of chicken as the fryer heated up. He mixed two boxes of red velvet cake with eggs, two cups of half and half, one cup each of vegetable oil and vanilla.

Fuller’s talent in the kitchen began at the age of 12. 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 were battling cancer.

Fuller admitted that his dishes were not washed.

“I was playing, but my playing was bad,” he said, recalling a time when he tried to cook a chicken dish. “I used to put all kinds of spices that were wrong. I think I got scared and threw honey in there.”

Fuller said he started talking to his mother while he was in the kitchen. They talked and shared, but he also saw his talent.

Fuller said she avoided showing her mother and sister Kwametra Schley what she learned until a few years ago when she made them a chicken and pasta dish. He said he knew he had done well because of what his sister had done.

He said: “He is one of those people who will say, ‘The food is good,’ and then go home and cook for himself.”

When the grill didn’t get hot enough, Fuller jumped on video with her mom, who walked her through resetting the heater and adding some water to the freezer. While frying the chicken, Fuller poured red velvet into the waffle maker.

After grilling the chicken and making the waffles, Fuller puts the finished products in the oven to warm up. He also mixed up a big jar of mango Kool-Aid and froze it in the freezer.

Fuller, who grew up in Fort Myers, Florida, and spent three years at Florida State before transferring to the Terps before the 2022 season, wasn’t ready to cook for his teammates. But in 2022, former defensive partner Anthony “Tank” Booker Jr. took Fuller’s Christmas dinner 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. If she’s going out, she likes a hot honey lemon 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 with dinner at Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen in Washington.

Fuller admitted that he can’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 p.m., the defensive unit 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. “Then you can taste love.”

Senior host Kaden Prather and Fontus hired Fuller to cook a Valentine’s Day dinner for them and their dates. Fontus said a meal of prime rib and macaroni and cheese was enough to make her boyfriend think Fuller was a chef, not a football player.

“I had to explain to him that he was my friend,” Fontus said.

Of course, reaching the NFL is Fuller’s goal. But he said he is considering opening a high-end restaurant with his mother or becoming a chef like NBA star LeBron James, pop icon Beyonce or rap artist Kodak Black.

“Imagine even if LeBron is 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.’