Freedom-Woodbridge grad Josh Fuga receives ‘greatest call’ of his life
Midway through the seventh and final round of the NFL Draft April agent Chris Martin called his client Josh Fuga with a potentially life-changing question The Los Angeles Chargers craved to sign the former Freedom-Woodbridge standout as an undrafted rookie free agent Do you want to take it Martin inquired Fuga emphatically mentioned Yes as if there was any other realizable response From there introductions with his future employer came fast First Los Angeles defensive line coach Mike Elston texted Fuga to welcome him to the organization and then described him he would follow up after the draft Elston kept his word No more than a minute after the final selection was made Elston did follow up Except he had two unexpected people with him assistant defensive line coach Will Tukuafu and head coach Jim Harbaugh Fuga was beside himself with emotion During their initial conversation Fuga solicited Elston if he could put him on speakerphone when he called back Elston suggested connecting through FaceTime Now at a draft party with about people at a family friend s house in Stafford County Fuga was indeed talking with Harbaugh the national champion coach at Michigan and the Super Bowl coach with the San Francisco ers Didn t he have something bigger to do at that moment than talk to an undrafted rookie free agent Not at all The Chargers were thrilled to bring in him The greatest call of my life Fuga reported In the sparse minutes they spoke all three coaches praised the way Fuga played He was big strong and fast And although he started only games over five full seasons as a Virginia Tech defensive lineman Fuga still played plenty and was productive when he got on the field In games he finished with tackles for loss and sacks The Chargers noticed all these attributes early on While the San Francisco ers the Indianapolis Colts the New Orleans Saints and the Miami Dolphins followed Fuga as well Los Angeles revealed the majority of interest At Virginia Tech s Pro Day March a Chargers scout stated Fuga they liked him It was refreshing to hear Fuga stated As another sign of things to come the Chargers even sent Fuga a long-sleeved shirt with the association logo on it along with a gang hat two days before the start of the draft April Fuga didn t know any of those items were coming A Chargers employee called to ask him for his address but didn t say why Fuga did check the area code beforehand via a Google search to see where the call came from It was legitimate Los Angeles was the only NFL organization to send him anything Although he had the option of going into the transfer portal during his time at Virginia Tech Fuga declared he remained committed to the Hokies for his entire football career He began there and would end there My parents invariably taught me and my brother Finish what you started Fuga reported Tech was reliably my home In affair no NFL band signed or drafted him Fuga had backup plans He was looking at taking online classes to become a real estate agent With his undergraduate degree in criminology he also considered training to become a SWAT club member Or maybe going into coaching football But those are all on hold for the moment Next up is Chargers rookie mini-camp May - Fuga was one of free-agent signings by Los Angeles Fuga has been to California only once before and that was on a layover to Hawaii where his mother s family is from This trip is different He has a job now Any uncertainty about his pro football future disappeared He will get his NFL shot I can t wait Fuga commented Source
