Brandon Fusco
Guard | |||||
| Personal information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born: | July 26, 1988 Dayton, Ohio, U.S. | ||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 306 lb (139 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Seneca Valley (Harmony, Pennsylvania) | ||||
| College: | Slippery Rock | ||||
| NFL draft: | 2011 / Round: 6 / Pick: 172 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||
| |||||
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||
Brandon Fusco (born July 26, 1988) is a former
Early years
Fusco attended
Fusco was not heavily recruited out of high school, mainly due to his lack of prep school experience and his 6–4, 240 lbs frame. He was only offered a chance to play football at small college schools,
College career
After enrolling at Slippery Rock in 2006, Fusco spent his freshman season as a
Fusco received All-American, All-Region and All-PSAC first-team accolades as a junior. Named the team captain, he also received squad MVP honors. He led the PSAC Western Division with 98 knockdowns and eleven touchdown-resulting blocks, despite the team's lack of a strong aerial game that ranked 59th in the nation. It was his drive blocking skills that helped the team finish fifth nationally in rushing (239.54 ypg) and seventh in total offense (456.69 ypg).
He became the 19th player in school history to garner All-American first-team honors more than once in a career, as the 2010 Gene Upshaw Award winner and team captain captured All-PSAC honors for the third consecutive year. With a limited passing game, The Rock again relied on his drive blocking skills to place tenth in the Division II ranks with an average of 247.38 yards per game rushing. He capped off an excellent career by becoming the first player in school history to compete in the Senior Bowl.
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle |
Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
306 lb (139 kg) |
33+3⁄4 in (0.86 m) |
10 in (0.25 m) |
5.18 s | 1.79 s | 2.90 s | 4.43 s | 7.29 s | 28.5 in (0.72 m) |
9 ft 0 in (2.74 m) |
26 reps | |
| All values from NFL combine[2] | ||||||||||||
Along with Will Rackley, Ben Ijalana, and David Arkin, Fusco was considered one of the best small-school offensive line prospects.[3] After a strong performance at the
Minnesota Vikings
Fusco played in three games of his rookie campaign. During his second season he started all 16 regular season games.[5]
On September 6, 2014, the Vikings signed Fusco to a five-year, $25 million contract extension.[6]
On February 10, 2017, Fusco was released by the Vikings.[7]
San Francisco 49ers
On May 2, 2017, Fusco was signed by the San Francisco 49ers.[8] Fusco started all 16 games for the 49ers in 2017 at right guard, and the team averaged 3.9 yards per carry on runs behind him.
Atlanta Falcons
On March 14, 2018, Fusco signed a three-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons.[9][10] He was named the Falcons' starting right guard to start the 2018 season, beating out incumbent starter Wes Schweitzer.[11] He started the first seven games before suffering a season-ending ankle injury in Week 7.[12][13]
On April 29, 2019, Fusco was released by the Falcons with a failed physical designation after one season while only playing and starting in seven games.[14]
References
- ^ "Minnesota Vikings Select Slippery Rock Center Brandon Fusco". Daily Norseman. April 30, 2011. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
- ^ NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles - Brandon Fusco
- ^ Edholm, Eric (February 25, 2011). "OL prospects putting small schools on NFL map". Pro Football Weekly. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
- ^ "2011 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
- ^ "Minnesota Vikings: Brandon Fusco". Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
- ^ Patra, Kevin (September 6, 2014). "Vikings sign Brandon Fusco to five-year extension". NFL.com. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
- ^ Peters, Craig (February 10, 2017). "Vikings Release Brandon Fusco, Mike Harris". Vikings.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017.
- ^ "49ers Announce Several Roster Moves". 49ers.com. May 2, 2017. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017.
- ^ "Falcons add starting guard option Brandon Fusco as free agency kicks off". TheFalcoholic.com. March 14, 2018.
- ^ McFadden, Will (March 14, 2018). "Falcons agree to terms with former 49ers lineman Brandon Fusco on three-year contract". AtlantaFalcons.com.
- ^ "Falcons name Brandon Fusco the starting right guard". AJC.com. August 28, 2018.
- ^ McFadden, Will (October 23, 2018). "Dan Quinn says Falcons' starting right guard Brandon Fusco to miss remainder of the season". AtlantaFalcons.com.
- ^ McFadden, Will (October 23, 2018). "Falcons make three offensive line moves with Brandon Fusco out for season". AtlantaFalcons.com.
- ^ McFadden, Will (April 29, 2019). "Falcons release Brandon Fusco". AtlantaFalcons.com.