TERRY MOSHER
In 44 years as a local sportswriter, I can recall just two guys who have come out of North Mason and have had a large impact on the college football scene – Ken Henningsen and now John Fullington.
Henningsen was a six-foot-seven, 285-pound gentle giant who in the early 1990s earned a full scholarship to play football at Eastern Washington. He had an immediate impact there and was destined it seemed to have a great career and move on to the NFL.
Unfortunately, Henningsen suffered a serious knee injury and then a serious heart condition – Atrial fibrillation – that ended his career. Tragically, his heart then gave out in November of 2010 and at the age of 37 he died, leaving behind many grieving friends and family.
JOHN FULLINGTON
Now comes along Fullington, a six-foot-five, 310-pound offensive lineman who – strange as it sounds ‑ graduated from North Mason the same year Henningsen died. Like Henningsen, Fullington was highly recruited and accepted a full scholarship to WashingtonState, where he would become an offensive line starter his freshman year and go on to start 43 consecutive games (tied for the school record by an offensive lineman) for the Cougars over the next four years.
Fullington is just not a good football player, but a good person as well whose academics has been in line with that. He graduated early – last December – with a degree in Kinesiology and is currently throwing the shot put for the WSU track and field team while waiting to see if an NFL team will draft him in the upcoming draft May 8-10.
Tuesday he visited at the Green Bay Packers with several others and went through the usual routine given to pre-draft prospects by NFL teams. He returned home late Wednesday night to Pullman and is waiting to see if the other 10 or so NFL teams who have expressed an interest in him will ask him to visit.
“He has had a lot of interest from teams,” says Fullington’s Seattle agent, Collin Roberts. “They all want medical records on him. Off the top of my head he has gotten calls from Kansas City, Miami, New York Giants, Jacksonville, and Houston.”
Fullington had a good pro day in mid-March. His 30 reps of 225 pounds in the bench press particularly drew interest from pro scouts that attended. His 40 time was so-so – a 5.35 – but then NFL teams are not looking for offensive lineman to run 40 yards in a game.
From what Roberts has learned, Fullington is either a draft pick in the latter rounds – the draft has seven rounds – or a free agent prospect.
“But the draft is crazy and you never know what teams are going to do,” says Roberts, who just last year started his own agency. “John is a great player and even a greater person. I feel honored to represent him.”
Roberts’ words are echoed by Fullington’s coach at North Mason, Phil Pugh. Pugh is retired from the coaching profession, but keeps in touch with his former player on a regular basis.
“He’s done more and gone further than anybody else in football from North Mason,” Pugh said. “He’s a good person. He’s one of those kids – he’s a strong Christian – who is a just a straight arrow and the kind of kid that any coach would be really proud to work with.”
Fullington won all sorts of league and school awards while at North Mason and continued to collect those at WashingtonState. He played the offensive and defensive lines plus was a tight end at North Mason, and earned all-state honors both on defense and offense his senior year.
He also played basketball four years – he helped the Bulldogs to fifth place at state his junior year – and three years competed with the track and field team, finishing eighth in state in the javelin his sophomore season.
At Washington State, Fullington several times was mentioned on the all-Pac-12 academic team and this past season was honored with the Mike Utley Award as the Cougar’s best offensive lineman.
It wasn’t always as easy at it sounds for Fullington at WSU. He had to withstand coaching changes from Paul Wulff to Mike Leach.
“They were totally different offenses,” says Fullington, noting that under Leach’s Air Raid offense the Cougars became almost strictly a passing team, which meant that the offensive lineman had to wrap their heads around a completely different way of blocking. But Fullington was able to adapt.
“I think it made me a better person,” says Fullington of the change to Leach’s Air Raid offense.
Late last year, Fullington made another change. He was asked by track and field coaches to come out and throw the shot put. They discovered he was pretty good at it in high school and based on that approached him about it. Fullington said, sure, why not?
“They wanted me to throw that weekend against Washington and I said ‘ok, whatever,’” Fullington said. “I gave it a shot. I got second behind Danny Shelton, a Washington football player. That was the last meet of the year.”
Fullington threw the shot 50-08.75. He also tossed the discus 103-5. So embolden, Fullington went back out this spring to do it again.
“They asked me back this year. I was all for it,” says Fullington, who has thrown the shot put 52-04.
Fullington is taking classes to get his masters in education just in case this NFL thing doesn’t work out. But even if it does get to play in the NFL, Fullington is set to come back to Belfair as a teacher/coach.
“I miss the college football experience, and the experience of having spring ball and not being a part of that,” Fullington says. “The good thing is I have a chance to be on an NFL team.”
Bottom line, though, is that he loves Belfair and is close to his family there, so when things finally shake all out it’s a good chance he will be back. But for now, it’s a waiting game as the NFL draft approaches.
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