McDaniel College introduces Skyler Fultz as new head football coach

After being elevated to McDaniel director of athletics in December, Jeremy Shepherd was responsible with one of the biggest tasks someone in his position can be faced with — hiring a football coach.

As Shepherd stood at the podium inside of Kenneth R. Gill Stadium on Wednesday, he exuded confidence as he knew he found the right guy to lead the program into the future: Skyler Fultz.

“As I met with the search committee, I kept coming back to Skyler.” Shepherd said. “It was clear how much he loved this place and how much of an impact it made on his life. His passion, his energy, his intelligence and his detailed plan for how he wanted to return this football program to prominence made it clear that he was the right person for this job.”

Fultz was formally introduced as the 28th coach of the Green Terror on Wednesday, bringing with him a wealth of experience and a new vision to a place he once called home as a player.

“This institution and this football program have given me so much. The people here have helped me grow and develop.” Fultz said. “I’m standing here today driven and committed to return this program to prominence.”

Fultz, who played tight end for the Green Terror from 2007 to 2010, comes to McDaniel after a season as head coach at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He also served as both quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator during a nine-year tenure with the Monarchs. Fultz began his college coaching career in 2011, also spending time Allegany College and Susquehanna University.

“I try to be who I am every day of the week, never want to be too high and I never want to be too low.” Fultz said. “My players will be able to trust who I am as a person they’re going to be able to trust that I always have their best interests in mind.”

Coming off a 0-10 season where the Green Terror lost all but one game by multiple scores, Fultz described the three things he wanted in every McDaniel football player moving forward: passion, love and perseverance.

“The ideal McDaniel College football player first has the passion to get a great education,” he said. “The next part is they have to love the game. It has to be that two hour escape from your life. Then the last part is you have to be ready to persevere. Something bad is going to happen whether it’s life football, school, doesn’t matter. It’s all in how you respond to those things.”

Along with finding the ideal Green Terror football player, Fultz stressed his desire for McDaniel to plant its flag and become a recruiting force locally. Already armed with a top local connection thanks to Westminster High coach Chris Bassler, who was his offensive coordinator in college, Fultz laid out his plan.

“It’s going to the coaches association meetings; it’s going to the Baltimore Touchdown Club,” he said. “It’s about being at games and hosting camps on our campus that aren’t moneymakers. We need to win the state of Maryland.”

With March being a period of introduction, observation and evaluation before spring practice kicks off in April, Fultz has already gotten to work, meeting with players and his new staff. While he admits there will be things his players will need to adjust to with the change such as morning practices, the end goal will always be to run out of the tunnel on game days and in the community with a team the Green Terror faithful can be proud of.

“We’re going to be involved in our community. People are going to love the team and the players that are going to be a part of our program.” he said. “We may not always be the biggest or the fastest, but we’re going to be well coached, give immense effort and you’re going to see the love and passion we all have for each other, because that’s what McDaniel football is going to be about.”

During his one season as a head coach, Fultz went 8-3 at King’s and led the Monarchs to a spot in the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series. His team had four first team All-Middle Atlantic Conference selections including conference Offensive Player of the Year in quarterback Russell Minor-Shaw. As offensive coordinator he produced record-setting units during each of his years in the position.