Let Him Cook

Let him cook. 

According to Dictionary.com, the phrase means to freely let a person do something they are good at. Well, Quashon Fuller is good at football. While college-aged fans at SECU Stadium are screaming, “Let him cook” in unison, it's likely because the defensive lineman hawked down and tackled an opposing ball carrier in the backfield. 

But what many of those Terp fans might not know is that Fuller can indeed cook. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner and grilling, baking or frying is involved, Fuller is passionate about food. 

“He’s famous for his ribs,” Fuller’s teammate on the D-line, Tommy Akingbesote, said. “He takes pride in his cooking. He tries to get fancy with it. He’ll add some pasta with some sprinkles of … I don’t know what it is. He’s good with the pastas — chicken alfredo, spaghetti, all that. Quashon has all of that in the bag.”

Fuller’s passion for cooking started in middle school. At the time, his uncle was battling cancer, and his mom was often away from home working to provide for her family and children as a single mother. As a result, Fuller had to step up and feed his uncle. 

The star defensive lineman from Fort Myers, Florida, admits his cooking wasn’t the best the first few times he entered the kitchen.

“My food was so bad,” Fuller said. “I was like, ‘Nah, I gotta pay closer attention.’ Ever since then, I just got older and started remembering what my mom was doing because I was always watching.”

From then on, cooking became a big part of Fuller’s life. He got better at it and soon learned how to make dishes that others would enjoy. Some of his vivid memories as a child were cooking with his mom. 

“One of the things that me and her to this day really see eye to eye on and have a great time doing together is cooking,” Fuller said. “Growing up, my mom was so good at making something out of nothing, and I always appreciated her for that.” 

Fuller’s appetite for good food translated to a hunger for success on the football field. He became a consensus four-star defensive end in a hotbed for star football players. He grew up battling against two former Maryland teammates, Jeshaun Jones and Fa'Najae Gotay. Fuller even attended his dream school, Florida State.  

However, Fuller spent three seasons with the Seminoles, one of which was a redshirt. He entered his name in the transfer portal, knowing he could contribute wherever he landed. He received calls from Maryland, and his relationship with the staff and players, such as Jones and Gotay, brought him to College Park. The Terps had previously recruited Fuller out of high school. 

“It was hard to leave my dream school, but I ain't gonna lie, thank you to the Terps,” Fuller said. “This was probably one of the best decisions I ever made.”

The 6-foot-3, 264-pound redshirt senior brought his passion for cooking to College Park when he transferred to Maryland in 2022. Since then, he’s appeared in 27 games in the trenches across three years in College Park. Fuller has accumulated 40 tackles (27 solo), eight tackles for loss, five sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He even concluded his 2023 campaign with Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors. 

“He has embraced his role and really understands his role,” defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Brian Williams said. “He really understands the concepts we're trying to do up front and believes in them more than he ever has. … He has always showed up as a playmaker in big games and crucial situations.” 

Once Fuller became accustomed to his new teammates in Terpsville, he began inviting many of them over for dinner. Special occasions and holidays are often spent at his house. The invitations are sometimes reserved for the D-line group, but others on the defense and special teams unit had a chance to taste the chef’s cooking.  

“If you can't go to Christmas, Quashon will tell you, ‘Come to my crib. We’re throwing down and doing Secret Santa,’” Akingbesote said. “Thanksgiving or Super Bowl, it’s the same thing.”

Many of the dishes Fuller prepares can be seen on his Instagram account. He says his favorite dish he has made thus far is stuffed chicken breast pasta.   

“If he posts it, I’m coming over. I need some,” defensive back Glendon Miller said. “He's very versatile. But I would say my favorite dishes from Quashon are more of his pastas. Whether it’s chicken, steak or shrimp, it's his pasta. I'm a pasta guy.”

Fuller’s cooking isn’t limited to his teammates and friends. He cooked for his coaches at the team’s summer pool party. 

“When we had our team cookout earlier this summer, he did the baked beans and some ribs,”  Williams said. “He did a good job. He had a lot of sugar in the baked beans, but that's to be expected.”

Many of Fuller’s teammates say that his house is the hangout spot. It’s one of the many places the defense spends time together. The student-athletes agree that the gatherings build camaraderie and serve as a vehicle for team bonding. 

“I think that it makes us really close,” Miller said. “At the end of the day, you want to go harder for the person you're closer to and spend your weekends with. You'll want to give it your all whenever you step on the field with them.”

Fuller will cook on and off the field while helping lead Maryland's defense in 2024. Even when making dishes for his teammates, his presence brings the Terps closer. But for Fuller himself, seeing his teammate’s reaction to trying one of his signature plates is enough to put a smile on his face.  

“When I’m cooking, I just have such a good time doing it, especially when I play my old R&B music,” Fuller said. “I think my favorite thing is people’s reactions. When they like the food, that makes me more full before I even start eating.”