Havana, Fla (WTXL) -- East Gadsden Coach Corey Fuller encourages his player to not miss any summer workouts. There are no excuses in the Jaguars locker room. However, the former Florida State defensive back is not going to just push his players out there alone. He does the workouts with them.
"I'll live longer. I have young kids," Fuller said. "That's what my payoff is, but for them we will be in great shape. We'll be great students and come to school with a different mindset."
Fuller is 45. He has been retired from the NFL for twelve years, but he still works out regularly with the lineman and the players respect him more for participating.
"I don't really talk back," senior defensive tackle Malik Rollins said. "He's like a second father to me. I don't talk back. I just do. He's pretty tough you know, but he does it because he loves us."
The team workout facility is a thin concrete floor with no special carpet or tile. It is just a few inches above the dirt. Still the coaches believe it is not where you are standing. It's where you are going.
"Having great workouts, intense workouts, it makes it harder for you to quit when something happens bad. When things aren't going your way." Fuller said. "That's what football does. It's a great measurement of the heart when things are going bad."
Messages like these and his work ethic are why the players look up to Fuller. However, one thing makes him standout as a coach.
"Tough love." Rollins said. "That's all I can say. Tough love."
Fuller has not kept up with how much weight he has lost working out with his team this summer. His only concern, is how many lives he's changing from head to toe. He wants to setup his players not just for a successful football career, but for a productive and rewarding life. He has played and coached football across the country, but Fuller believes he is where he is supposed to be-- East Gadsden High School.
